I'll Catch You When You Fall
by chermenstrualcramps
Summary: Kum, post-New York. Sam doesn't know if Kurt will ever learn of the secret feelings Sam has held or if Blaine will ever be out of the picture. M-rating starts chapter 9.
1. Chapter 1

"You look so nervous. You sure you're up for this?" Mercedes gave Sam a searching look.

"Yeah…well you know how much I've thought about this. I can't keep it locked away anymore." Sam bit his lip and looked down, shuffling his feet. He felt like he was about to be sick. He glanced around and realized how weird they were being, hiding just inside the entrance of this coffee shop.

Sam Evans and Mercedes Jones had met at this café to deal with some angst Sam had been coping with on his own for months. The two of them had been hanging out since the week leading up to prom, and they had soon become fast friends. No one else in glee club really knew about their sudden friendship, though. Mercedes and Kurt Hummel were best friends, and the special bond between those two was one of the main reasons Sam had gotten so close to Mercedes so quickly. She was the perfect person with whom Sam could share what had been weighing heavily on his mind for so long.

"Then I guess we better get down to business. There's no way in hell you're gonna feel any better standing in the door."

"You're right. You sure he's gonna be here, though, Mercedes? This place is kinda out of the way."

"We already been over this, boy. Am I his bestie or am I his bestie? He's been comin' here all the time since he transferred to Dalton. He's usually here with Blaine, but don't worry, that's why you got me here for back-up," Mercedes smiled up at Sam, reached over, and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before cocking her head and brushing her hair back, "Wait…see? I think I actually hear them now!"

Sam smiled weakly back at her as she whispered the last bit, and they both stopped a few seconds to eavesdrop on their friend.

"Wait, I don't get it, you don't seem that sad at all." Sam looked at Mercedes and mouthed _Is that Blaine?_ She nodded.

"It was still amazing! I mean, I flew in a plane for the first time, I had breakfast at Tiffany's, I sang on a Broadway stage." There was a pause, and Mercedes glanced at Sam. She could barely handle the sappy look Sam wore when he heard Kurt talk, but she saw Sam's dreamy expression go stony moments later.

"I love you."

Sam felt like he was falling backwards forever. He did not come here to hear Blaine tell Kurt that. Sam could not even look at Mercedes. He knew if he saw the patronizing look of pity she must be wearing right now, he would not be able to avoid tears.

Mercedes whispered, "Come on, we're already here. Let's just get something to drink and leave," and she gently nudged Sam farther into the café. Neither of them tried listening to the couple's conversation as they hurried to get by unnoticed, but the long pause in the conversation they had overheard finally ended as Kurt responded to his boyfriend.

"I love you too," Kurt tilted his head and added more quietly, "You know, when you stop and think about it, Kurt Hummel's had a pretty good year. Oh, look who's here!" He had noticed Sam and Mercedes.

Blaine turned around and greeted Kurt's friends, "Hey, what are you guys doin' here?"

"Uh, just, ah, gettin' a coffee." Sam stumbled over his words as he grasped for an answer. After all, he and Mercedes had not intended to be there for coffee.

"We ran into each other in the parking lot." Mercedes tried reinforcing the nonchalant reason for their showing up with a grin and a nod of her head. It was forced, but Kurt and Blaine did not seem to notice.

Blaine was oblivious and gave his own answer for him and Kurt, "We're on our way to get some sheet music. Tomorrow's my audition for the summer show at Six Flags."

Sam heard but did not listen. He really did not care about anything Blaine was doing.

"—Whereas I'm spending my summer composing Pip Pip Hooray, a Broadway musical about Pippa Middleton." Kurt added his own plans for the summer.

Sam did not understand what Kurt had just said, but he knew Kurt cared about it, and that meant he cared about it too. "I-I have no idea who that is, but it sounds totally awesome," Sam said with a sheepish smile.

Mercedes laughed privately at Sam's blatant attempt at winning points with Kurt and gave him a couple playful taps on the arm to let him know she thought he was being obvious.

"We'll see you in class," she added, and she and Sam escaped. Blaine said goodbye then turned back to Kurt to continue their conversation.

"Do you think they know?" Mercedes quickly asked Sam as they walked away from their failed attempt to talk to Kurt.

"I don't think anybody knows."

Sam knew no one knew. He had been too careful. But he had not been able to help being carelessly flustered when they had overheard the couple's I-love-yous and when Kurt had spoken to him. Sam felt numb. He was glad he was not alone with this secret anymore. He reached over and grasped Mercedes' hand for emotional support and he smiled to himself as he felt her hold tighten momentarily to let him know she was there for him.

What was he going to do now? New Directions had not even placed at nationals, and after what he and Mercedes had just heard, he felt farther from love than he ever had since coming to McKinley. What a terrible end to the year.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt popped open the microwave door right as it beeped and was pouring popcorn into a bowl when Mercedes yelled at him from the other room.

"What's taking so long, boo?"

"One must always strive to be a good hostess!" chimed Kurt in a singsong voice as he came back down the stairs into his bedroom, "Sorry the popcorn took me from our gossip-mongering for so long, but chill, girl, we have all night." He set the food down on the end table, where it soon lay forgotten as Kurt and Mercedes had more important things on their minds.

"I know, but it just feels like there's so much to talk about! We haven't had a real girls' night in forever." Mercedes and Kurt were both excited to be having a sleepover for the first time in what had been far too long. If Kurt were honest with himself, he knew he felt a little guilty about it because the main cause of the recent distance between the two friends was his boyfriend. Ironically, though, Blaine was also the reason for their reunion tonight.

"Too true. I don't remember, where was I before food distracted me?"

"Something about the other day when me and Sam ran into you at The Lima Bean."

"Of course. So actually, something absolutely momentous happened mere seconds before I caught sight of you two," Kurt distractedly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, which had been left on for a musical he and Mercedes had seen a dozen times, and while he was turned away Mercedes took the opportunity to allow herself a knowing smile before quickly reverting to her well-rehearsed look of intrigue.

"Come on, Kurt, you are being such a tease!"

Kurt could not build it up anymore and continued, "Well…Blaine told me he loved me." Kurt was looking away when he spoke, but could not help shifting his gaze to Mercedes to gauge her reaction.

Mercedes had practiced her reaction for this moment. She widened her eyes and let her mouth go just a little slack, enough to be believable without being comical, "No! Really? Well don't just leave me hangin'! What did you say? How do you feel about it? Am I supposed to be happy for you as your best friend or be concerned? Kurt, you can't just say that! Talk to me, boy!"

Kurt almost laughed at her reaction. It was so very Mercedes—the very reaction he thought she would have—that he did not pick up on its contrived nature at all. He hesitated before responding to her excited barrage of questions, "Well, see…that's the thing. I said 'I love you too,' but I swear it took what felt like an hour to get the words to leave me."

"Yeah, I guess you did look a little shook up when you waved me and Sam over."

"Oh! That reminds me," Kurt had a sudden thought, "why _were_ you there with Sam?" He could not help narrowing his eyes at Mercedes in exaggerated suspicion.

"Pssht, what are you implying?" she laughed it off, "I told you, we just ran into each other outside. Besides, Sam's a nice guy, you know, can't a girl have friends other than the high-maintenance Kurt Hummel?" Mercedes knew she was pushing it with the Sam plug, but she felt a duty to emphasize the platonic nature of her and Sam's still-secret friendship.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I don't know about this 'high-maintenance' nonsense though," Kurt trailed off with a smirk.

"…Kurt."

"What?"

"Boy, don't think you can get an obvious subject change like that past me! Come on, we're not done with this Blaine business. You're the one who brought it up. It's out there now, and we're talking about it, damn it."

Kurt sighed and looked up from the same spot on his bedspread he had been absentmindedly picking at for the past minute, "I know, I know. It's just so much to process. Forgive me for taking my time." He gave his friend a halfhearted smile to show he was trying not to be too heavy. Mercedes just pursed her lips and inclined her head towards him in a look that told him all too clearly that she just wanted him to spill.

"Okay, well first of all, I guess I have to tell you that I think me saying 'I love you too' was a reaction to how unexpected Blaine's L-word was."

"So did you not mean it?"

"I don't know!" Kurt was clearly distraught, and Mercedes scooted over and put an arm around her friend, "I mean, I guess I do know. It's just hard to acknowledge because I never thought I'd be the person to say it when I didn't mean it, you know?"

"So you didn't mean it…" Mercedes leaned her head against Kurt's and played the supportive friend, but in her head she screamed in relief and made a mental note to text Sam as soon as possible.

"Now don't get me wrong. I care about Blaine, I really do. I care about him a lot. I wanted a boy for so long, you know that, and now I have one. And that makes me so happy. But sometimes, when my self-awareness isn't so clouded by Blaine fever, I really think _what if I shouldn't be with him?_ I know, I know! Why would I think that in a million years, right? But…I don't know, Mercedes, sometimes I just feel like Blaine doesn't really care about _me_. Like, me as a person. Does that make sense? Like I'm just a trophy, or one more person he gets to have worship him. Not that I worship him," Kurt caught Mercedes' eye and he smiled slyly, "but I seriously wonder if that's not how he really feels, on some level."

Mercedes was silent for a few seconds. "So—"

"—I know I just said a lot really quickly!"

"No, I got you, Kurt. I don't blame you for kinda ramblin'. That's a lot of shit to deal with. Love is a big deal," Mercedes paused again, "So I guess what you're sayin' is, you don't think _Blaine_ really meant it? So you couldn't really mean it back."

"Yes, that's it exactly!" Kurt sighed, content just to be with his best friend at this moment. He was so glad he finally talked about these misgivings he had been having. "Mercedes, I'm so glad we have each other. We need to do this more, especially since the summer's coming up and we'll have so much free time. I've missed our girl time this past year, what with me transferring to Dalton and getting involved with Blaine, and then the stress of preparing for nationals after I came back to McKinley."

"Kurt, I couldn't agree more. And you know us divas gotta stick together," she giggled and pushed Kurt over.

"Mercedes, what—!" Kurt laughed as he got hit full in the face by a pillow and the night descended into a heated pillow fight.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam groaned as he was woken by his phone. He rolled over and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He checked his phone, and sighed at the time. It was 12:47pm. There was a text from Mercedes. He rolled back over, intending to fall back asleep since he had been up all night first delivering pizzas then being unable to sleep, perusing tumblr with nothing to do. Then he remembered Mercedes had told him she was going to sleep over at Kurt's last night and he quickly grabbed his phone again to see what she had to say.

_Omg Sam what r u doing today, I have news._

Of course she would not just text him the important news. Sam texted her back, and they agreed to meet up in a few minutes. Putting his phone down, Sam yawned and stretched before heading to the bathroom to get ready for his and Mercedes' meeting. He thought to himself that he should really stop sleeping in so late, but it was the summer after all, and he did not work in the morning anyway. His parents had insisted Sam did not need to work so hard after they found people who would hire them and after they had found a cheap apartment to move into, but he felt obligated to support his family. He gave every one of his paychecks to his parents. They were only just getting by, and until his family was back on its feet, Sam would not feel comfortable doing any less than what he already was.

"Ouch, goddammit." Sam was pulled from his reverie about the source of his sleep deprivation as he stubbed his toe getting into the shower. He could not stop another groan escape him, and he rubbed his eyes again and mumbled "This better be good, Mercedes…"

He let his head fall back as he turned on the water and it ran down his body. Sometimes he felt like showering was the most peaceful moment he got in the day. He wondered about Mercedes' text, though. What could it be about? Well, it had to be about Kurt. She had stayed the night at his place, and she had gotten Sam's hopes up that she might learn something more about the conversation the two of them had overheard at The Lima Bean. Sam let out a sigh as Kurt floated to the forefront of his thoughts. He could not help resenting Blaine for having Kurt. For telling him he loved him.

Sam remembered months ago when he first began to identify how he felt about Kurt. He remembered his first encounter with Kurt, back when he had just transferred to McKinley and no one really knew who he was. Sam had thought Kurt was so cute, but it was not until months later that he would analyze himself enough to come to terms with what his feelings for Kurt really were. Sam still could not call himself gay, but he knew he cared about Kurt and had always admired him, usually from afar. It did not help Sam's perception that all his feelings were was unrequited attraction that Kurt was always so friendly to him. Only weeks ago Kurt had been so supportive and comforting when he realized Sam's family was going through a tough time. And at the beginning of the school year when Sam felt alone, Kurt had been so eager to sing a duet with Sam. Well, Kurt had seemed eager for a lot of things. Sam smiled when he remembered their conversation in the showers at school and Kurt's wandering eyes. Sam bit his lip to try stopping a grin and looked down at himself in the shower, wishing Kurt could see him now.

* * *

><p>"Sam!" Mercedes huffed, "Damn boy, you took a while!"<p>

"I know, sorry! I had to shower and everything." Sam came and sat down at Mercedes' table.

"I don't understand your sleep schedule. But anyway, Sam, this is so exciting! Last night I was at Kurt's, right?"

"Yeah, is this what that's about? I wondered."

"Yeah, I had to report back to you what I found out in person."

"In The Lima Bean?" Sam did not know why he had been dragged out of bed to come all the way here.

"Well, wherever. I was already out when I texted you and this place was nearby. It doesn't really matter, although I guess it's appropriate considering what I found out."

"Okay, fine, so what did you find out?" Sam was getting impatient.

"Right. Kurt wanted to talk to me about him and Blaine's conversation that we overheard."

"—that he doesn't know we overheard, right?" Sam was attentive now, but nervous.

"Yeah, of course, do you think I'd blow our cover so easily? Anyway, so Kurt told me what Blaine said, and you shoulda seen him, Sam, you woulda melted, he was so unsure of himself, he couldn't even look me in the eye!" Sam could not suppress a smile when he thought about Kurt, but Mercedes did not let him interrupt her, "I played the role of surprised, excited, concerned friend like the star I am, if I do say so myself, and lemme tell you, he couldn't tell I had already heard the conversation."

Sam was relieved to hear that, but pressed Mercedes for more details, "As if I should be surprised. But then what did he say? C'mon, this can't be it."

"No, of course not. Basically Kurt told me about these negative thoughts he's been having about Blaine and their relationship, and this is the first I've ever heard of this, I promise you, and he told me that he couldn't really mean it even though he told Blaine he loved him too."

Sam was elated. He felt like jumping up in the air and whooping, but he settled on actual speech, "So…okay, so what I'm getting from this is that Klaine is on the rocks."

"Yes."

Sam should have known this would be good. He felt like running through the streets with a megaphone, announcing his elation to the whole of Lima, Ohio.

"But, Sam, that doesn't mean he's about to break up with him or anything. We both know Kurt can feel so lonely. I don't think he could break up with Blaine just because he thinks there's trouble in paradise."

That brought Sam back down to earth. Mercedes saw his face fall and hurried on, "Okay, I know, that's not what you wanna hear. I don't think that means hope is lost, though! Kurt finally has tons of free time now that glee and school are over, and the two of us agreed we need to hang out more. I also mentioned you, by the way," she added with a wink, delighted to see Sam start suddenly, "I made sure to let Kurt know you and me are just friends. Meaning you're single. And I also mighta mentioned you're a great guy. I mighta just slipped that in there. No biggie."

Sam tried hiding his embarrassed grin, "Come on, Mercedes, don't you think that's a little obvious?"

"Hell naw, Kurt hardly noticed, to be honest. I'm sure he heard me, but he didn't address. But my point is, lover boy, I think I can make plans with Kurt and have you tag along. Kurt knows you and me are friends now. I'd be hella surprised if he had a problem with you showing up sometime. We have the whole summer ahead of us. Let's do this."

Later Sam felt like everything was looking up again on his way home from his powwow with Mercedes. Kurt did not love Blaine, in fact had misgivings about their relationship, and chances were Sam and Kurt would be able to spend time together in the coming weeks. Sam could not stop himself from being hopeful.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam and Mercedes sat in her car outside Kurt's house going over their plan. They had driven there separately, but Sam had hopped in Mercedes' car once he got there to make sure everything would go smoothly. Kurt had invited Mercedes earlier, and she took the opportunity to bring Sam by claiming she was already hanging out with him. She was not, of course, but she immediately contacted Sam to get him to Kurt's.

"Look, boy, I know you and Kurt ain't hardly ever hung out before, but hopefully this won't be too awkward or nothin'."

"Yeah, I know. This is just me gettin' my foot in the door," Sam recited back to Mercedes what he had been convincing himself of all week.

"Sometimes I feel like I've been trying a little too hard to be matchmaker for you two," Mercedes said with an eyeroll that was more for herself than Sam, "but I know Kurt's dissatisfied with Blaine, and I know you're an amazing gentleman who's been secretly pining for my best friend for months. I guess what I'm saying is, it might take a while, but go get 'im."

Sam just grinned at Mercedes, and the two of them got out of the car and headed to Kurt's.

Kurt bounded to the door after hearing the doorbell ring. He had invited Mercedes over but was not surprised to see Sam with her. She said she had been hanging out with him, and Kurt did not expect her to ditch anyone.

"Hey, boo!" Mercedes came in for a hug.

"Hey, Kurt," Sam gave him a self-conscious smile, "I hope you don't mind I tagged along?"

"No, of course not. We're friends too, aren't we?" Kurt gave Sam a friendly smile then led his two guests inside. He was a little surprised when he texted Mercedes and she told him she was hanging out with Sam, but did not say anything at the time. He had never simply hung out with Sam before, but it did not bother him. Kurt was not too prone to awkwardness.

Kurt gave Sam a quick whirlwind tour of his house since he had never been there, then the three settled in the living room. Over the course of the afternoon, Kurt and Mercedes got absorbed in their own topics only the two of them could follow, and Kurt could not help noticing that though Sam seemed pretty good at getting in a comment or a laugh here and there, he was obviously feeling a little left out. Kurt felt bad, but Sam had tagged along and presumably knew what he was getting himself into. Kurt had not been joking when he said one must always be a good host the other night, though, so eventually he found a good opportunity to draw Sam further into the conversation.

"So you two have been hanging out a lot lately," Kurt said in a tone that he made sure would not sound too accusatory. Sam and Mercedes looked at each other and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so. We've sorta become good friends since prom," Mercedes explained.

"_Good_ friends?" Kurt insisted playfully.

Sam smiled and nudged Mercedes next to him. "Naw, nothin' like that," he answered confidently, "we're friends. I guess you could say Mercedes is my confidante now."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, but saw that neither of them had acted awkwardly after he implied anything about their relationship. He was not sure he could believe that Sam Evans, quarterback and once Ken to Quinn's Barbie, could have a female best friend, but here it was in front of him. It somehow made Kurt more comfortable around Sam, though. And Sam seemed looser now that he was being included, too, and that pleased Kurt as well.

The three of them spent the afternoon together, and after Kurt brought up Sam and Mercedes' friendship, Sam was much more involved. Sam and Mercedes had a secret plan to execute, though. Just as it was getting dark, Mercedes went in the other room to take a call. When she came back, she told the boys that had been her mom on the phone, reminding her she had to come home soon because they had family coming into town that night.

"So you have to go?" Kurt was disappointed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Kurt," Mercedes was genuinely sorry to see him disappointed when she was actually lying to him, but she had to stick to the plan.

"Okay, it's fine, I understand," Kurt looked around at Sam, "Did you come together?"

Sam had been looking away during Kurt and Mercedes' exchange but looked up at Kurt to answer him, "No, we took separate cars, so I don't have to go. I mean, if you want me to, that's fine too," Sam blushed as he started to get flustered with himself, "but I just mean I don't have to, I mean, I don't know."

It was all Mercedes could do not to laugh. Sam was bright red. Kurt just smiled and looked questioningly at Mercedes. "Sam, calm down. You can stay."

Sam buried his head in a pillow while Kurt went and saw Mercedes off. "So what was that?" Kurt had come back, and Sam turned to look when he heard his voice.

"Sorry," Sam forced out a laugh. "I just, I don't know, I didn't wanna be a bother." He stole a sidelong glance at Kurt.

"For goodness sake, Sam," Kurt huffed as he plopped onto the couch next to the other boy, "Don't you remember when I gave you my clothes? And you're worried about being a bother by hanging out here?"

"Yeah, I know. And I hope I wasn't a bother then, either. I'm sure I already said my piece about it, but you don't know how much I appreciate all your help when I was staying in that motel."

Kurt looked at Sam closely while he spoke. Sam was not looking Kurt in the eyes while he said all this, and Kurt could really see the shame the boy next to him still felt about his family's problems. Sam was such a charming boy. Kurt remembered too how sweet Sam had been to him at the beginning of the year when all he knew about Kurt was that he was the token gay boy. It was strange. They had only meaningfully interacted a few notable times over the school year, but those times had been potently meaningful to Kurt: being accepted unquestioningly by Sam and supporting Sam during a troubled time for him. And now here they were, hanging out alone in Kurt's living room.

"Yeah, I know you appreciate it, Sam," Kurt told him and put his hand on Sam's shoulder, "but I couldn't just leave a friend in need without helping out."

"Thanks, Kurt. And you know, I'd do the same for you any time. You're a good guy, and I wanna return the favor. If you ever need help with anything at all, I'll be ready to help in a heartbeat, even if it's just as a shoulder to lean on," Sam smiled at him.

Kurt was touched by Sam's sincerity.

"I…well I may take you up on that offer sometime, Sam."

Kurt knew Sam's coming over with Mercedes was fortuitous because he felt something new in this boy across from him. From that moment on, something changed between Kurt and Sam. Kurt knew Sam meant what he said when he offered his hypothetical support, and he made a mental note to get closer to Sam. He saw something new starting between them.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam held his hand up above his eyes to scan the parking lot, "I don't see them…" He and Mercedes were wandering toward the entrance of an itinerant carnival. They were supposed to be meeting their friends for a day of cheap thrill rides and shameless binging on junk food.

"Oh! Sam, c'mon, there they are!" Sam squinted at the row of ticket stiles Mercedes was waving at and saw Kurt jumping up and down waving back at her. Blaine and Rachel were with him. Sam felt a pang of jealousy seeing Blaine standing by Kurt, but pushed the feeling away.

"Good, I was worried Blaine might have trouble finding this place," Sam knew Blaine had driven Kurt and Rachel. He waved back at Kurt, Rachel, and Blaine, and then hurried over to them with Mercedes. The traveling carnival was having a special deal for the week of July 4th, and that was the only way Sam could justify spending the money. This was the most exciting thing he had done since the summer started, and he did not deny to himself that he would relish spending the day with Kurt. The past several weeks had been productive for Sam. After spending the afternoon with Mercedes and Kurt at the beginning of the summer and expressing his appreciation to Kurt, the two boys had found more and more excuses to hang out. Sam felt comfortable calling them good friends now. They certainly had a more natural, relaxed relationship than they had had before.

"Hey, guys!" Rachel beamed at Sam and Mercedes and came in for a hug from both of them. Kurt and Mercedes hugged too, but Kurt just smiled and waved at Sam without coming in for a hug.

After paying admission, the five got down to business doing everything the carnival had to offer. They played games, rode the sometimes laughably crappy "thrill" rides, and made sure to experience the obligatory carnival funnel cakes and cotton candy. The girls made Sam win them giant stuffed animals from a particularly flashy game involving well-worn plastic balls and haphazardly stacked bottles.

"Sam, thanks so much! I've always wanted a boy to win me a disturbingly enormous prize from one of these games!" Rachel flashed him her characteristically overenthusiastic smile while Mercedes rolled her eyes from behind her own giant purple bunny.

"Um, no need to thank me. You sorta forced me to anyway," Sam replied with an awkward laugh and knowing eye contact with Mercedes and Kurt.

Kurt turned to Blaine with an excited look and grabbed his hand, "I kinda want one too! I don't wanna be left out."

Blaine pulled his hand away and tried to brush off Kurt's suggestion "I don't know, Kurt…"

"Blaine, please!" Kurt was play-begging, but Blaine would not give in.

"No, Kurt, really, I don't really think that's a great idea," Blaine glanced off to the side where they could see a group of six or seven rowdy teenage boys hanging around and clearly looking for trouble. Kurt looked at them too.

"…Are you serious? Because of _them_?" Kurt huffed and turned away. Sam saw Kurt's irked expression.

"Hey, Kurt, if you want one, I'll get you one too," Sam offered.

"What? No, Sam, you don't—," Kurt started to protest, but Sam was already handing over his own money to the attendant to have another go at the game.

Five minutes later the five of them were walking away, Kurt weighed down by his new oversized stuffed animal. He and Blaine were a couple steps behind Sam and the girls, bickering in whispered tones.

Sam leaned in slightly to the girls as they walked and half-whispered, "Was that bad of me?"

Mercedes gave Rachel a surreptitious glance before answering, "Well, I understand why you did. But my guess is Blaine isn't your biggest fan right now."

"I think he's being silly. It's not like he has any reason to feel threatened by Sam," Rachel chimed in, but Sam and Mercedes just exchanged fleeting eye contact.

The group stopped for a few minutes later to sit and eat. The atmosphere was still a little tense, but Kurt and Blaine had quit bickering. Kurt was conversing happily with Sam and the girls, but he was clearly pointedly leaving Blaine out of the conversation, so it was not long before Mercedes and Rachel took it upon themselves to usher everyone off to go ride the only ride they had yet to go on.

There was not much of a line, but the five of them still had to wait a little before being able to get on what seemed to be a generic rip-off of every Disney ride that took you through different scenes, like Pirates of the Caribbean. Sam, Mercedes, and Rachel just leaned against the railing trying to avoid eye contact and giving each other awkward looks as Kurt and Blaine started to talk about their earlier argument again. They were whispering but were so close to Sam and the girls that they were still too audible.

"—Blaine, no, I'm still upset. But I'm glad you hear what I'm saying."

"Kurt, I'm sorry. Can we just move on?"

Kurt just sighed and nodded. The two hugged and Kurt settled himself back against the railing looking mollified. A set of empty cars pulled up, and Sam heard Mercedes sigh in relief at the prospect of getting away from the couple making the afternoon awkward for everyone. Just as the gates popped open to admit them, though, they all heard Kurt raising his voice at Blaine again.

"So now you won't even hold my hand here? Jesus, Blaine, I don't understand you! You say all this 'courage' crap, but when faced with the real world, you'd rather hide than be courageous!" People were staring, and Sam just slid into an empty car, wishing Kurt and Blaine could fight in private. Mercedes and Rachel were already sitting together in a car, and Mercedes leaned out to try and get Kurt's attention.

"No, Mercedes, I can handle myself. I think Blaine could benefit from having to deal with a scene he doesn't star in," Kurt said venomously before addressing Blaine again, "Oh, and I guess I shouldn't embarrass you or draw any _unwanted_ attention to our relationship, so I'll give you your space and let you sit alone."

Kurt turned and walked over to occupy the empty seat next to Sam, leaving Blaine looking shocked and angry. The ride operator cleared his throat uncomfortably and said to get a move on, and Blaine sat down alone in front of Mercedes and Rachel.

As the ride shuddered forward and they started to slide past cheesy and boring scenes of pirates set to blaring sounds and grating music, Sam turned to look at Kurt next to him. He was not crying, but his eyes were red and watery. Sam extricated an arm from under the lap bar and placed it around Kurt, who closed his eyes and clenched his jaw at his touch in what Sam interpreted as an attempt not to cry.

Kurt stayed silent for a few seconds more. "Sorry."

Sam blinked stupidly. "For what?"

Kurt turned toward him and wiped his eyes. "For making a scene? I probably embarrassed you guys."

Sam pulled Kurt over into a side hug before answering, "Well, yeah, I won't deny that, but you were upset. Everybody gets to have a diva moment." Kurt sniffled and rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Besides, we're alone in a dark tunnel. It'd be hard to be embarrassed in here."

"I guess." Kurt smiled and turned away again. Sam sat surveying him for a few seconds before removing his arm. Kurt suddenly spoke again as Sam was settling back into thought, though. "He just frustrates me so much sometimes! Everything takes place in Blaine world for him. He acts like a superstar around his followers, but then when he's in the real world—like here, or at the store, or any place not filled with people who idolize him, basically—he acts like we can't be who we are. I'm not trying to grind up on him and be indecent or anything. I just don't know if I can handle his crap about not even being able to act like we're a couple whenever we're in front of people that he thinks look scary or something, as if he's not out."

"I…well, I'm sorry, Kurt," Sam said a little breathlessly while awkwardly trying to free his arm again to comfort Kurt. He saw a shadow of a grin at the corner of Kurt's mouth when he finally got his arm around the boy again. "Sorry."

Kurt leaned into his touch this time and rested his head on Sam's arm. "I hope this isn't weird." Sam gave him a questioning look. "I just mean, this. You're so…_nice_. I appreciate it, of course. You're quite the gentleman, Sam Evans. But if you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have a lot of male friends who would talk to me on this level."

"Well I don't feel weird about it. We're friends, aren't we? Anyway Kurt, everything will turn out okay. I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but if you don't feel like being with him is good, then why continue to be with him? I don't know." Kurt snuck a glance at Sam's face and got a shrewd expression, but Sam was looking down and did not see.

Kurt was still resting on Sam's arm when the ride pulled back into the loading platform. As they all got off, Blaine saw Kurt and scowled. Sam felt a little guilty and hurried to get Kurt up and off the ride. As they walked off and gathered together away from the lines, Kurt spoke up.

"This has been so fun, but I think we've exhausted all the fun from this place."

"Yeah, are you guys ready to go then?" asked Rachel. Everybody looked around at each other and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's been a long day," Mercedes answered. "Should we head back to the parking lot?"

They all started off in the direction of their cars. Kurt turned to Sam and asked, "Sam, can I ride with you? I think it's a shorter trip if you take me."

Sam saw Blaine set his jaw but otherwise he showed no reaction. "Um, yeah, of course, Kurt." He smiled at Kurt, but Kurt was watching Blaine, so he did not see.

When they got to the parking lot, Blaine pulled Kurt aside. Sam, Mercedes, and Rachel waited for them before heading for the cars. "Kurt's really upset, isn't he?" Rachel asked tentatively.

"Yeah…he vented a little to me when we were on that last ride," Sam admitted.

"I thought something like that might have happened," Mercedes said with a nod. "I don't blame Blaine for being pissed, though."

"I guess," replied Rachel, "but really it's Kurt whose feelings got hurt here, right? All Blaine has to be angry about—as far as I can tell—is that Kurt wants space right now."

"Yeah, that's true too. You guys, couples are annoying." Mercedes shook her head and gave an exaggerated, annoyed sigh. Sam just looked down at his feet with his hands in his pockets.

They saw Kurt and Blaine finish their private conversation that had included lots of irate gesticulations and frustrated body language, and Blaine walked off toward his car. Kurt came back over to them.

"So…" Mercedes prompted.

"It's fine. He's mad at me. Which is ridiculous. But I told him I just need to have my own time right now and I'll text him tomorrow or something."

"Is he still giving me a ride…?" Rachel asked hesitatingly. She and Kurt had both ridden with Blaine.

"Yeah, I think so. If I know him, he'll enjoy the company, too."

"Oh, good! Okay, well, I should hurry over before he drives off! I had fun, you guys! Bye!" Rachel started toward Blaine's car, but Mercedes stopped her.

"Hey, Rachel, wait up!" Mercedes turned to the two boys. "Sam, I think I'm gonna ride with Rachel. I haven't spent much time with her lately, and I kinda wanna catch up on some diva talk one-on-one."

"Oh. Yeah, go for it." Sam was pretty sure he knew what she was doing, and he was totally okay with it. Mercedes and Rachel ran off toward Blaine's parked car.

"…Sam. Where's your car?"

"What? Oh yeah. Sorry, I spaced out for a sec'." Sam smirked at Kurt and headed for his car at the other end of the parking lot with the other boy in tow. When they got in, Kurt groaned.

"It's boiling in here!"

"I know! I'll turn on the A/C, but it's too hot. You should probably just get used to being sticky."

"I guess I did this to myself."

"Hey, if you wanna go ride with Blaine Warbler, be my guest, Porcelain."

Kurt gave Sam an overacted look of mock offense. "Excuse me? Let's not start calling names, Trouty Mouth!" Sam returned a teasing offended expression. "Now get a move on, it won't get any cooler in here with the car idling." Sam laughed at their shared playfulness. He was relieved Kurt seemed to be getting into a better mood.

"So what's the best way to your place? The highway, you think?"

Kurt let out an enormous sigh. "Yes, I suppose so. I think Finn will have Puck over. I don't even want to go home, especially after all the fun we had today."

Sam stole a sidelong glance at Kurt. He cleared his throat and said hesitantly, "Well…there's no reason you have to go home, I guess. We can still hang out."

Kurt brightened at this suggestion. "You want to?"

"Yeah, of course, it's not like I have much to look forward to going back home alone. We can go to my place if you don't wanna be at yours, but it's kinda small…"

"Oh, whatever Sam, you know I don't care about that. Okay, the Evans manor it is, then!"

Sam could not help smiling ear to ear when he heard Kurt's excitement, and turned to drive the route that would take them to his family's apartment. Kurt called his dad to tell him where he was headed and had no trouble getting it okayed since Burt had been familiar with Sam for months through Finn. By the time he got off the phone, they were pulling up to Sam's place.

"Mom!" Sam yelled as he unlocked the door and walked in. There was no answer. "I guess we're alone…Mom and Dad must be out," he said to Kurt.

"Where are Stevie and Stacy?"

"They're spending the week at my grandparents' place. We've been letting them stay there a lot this summer 'cause they don't really like it here at the apartment. I'd go with them, but I gotta stay for work. Anyway, lemme text my mom to let her know I got somebody over…they have to work late sometimes. Sorry, I didn't think it'd be so lifeless here."

"Well I wasn't expecting to hang out with your parents anyway. Although I wouldn't have minded seeing Stevie and Stacy." Sam started texting his mom and was not paying too much attention. "Where's your bathroom?"

Sam looked up. "Hmm? Oh, right around the corner there, on the left," he answered before returning to his phone. Kurt thought he would take the opportunity to snoop because he just could not help himself while Sam was preoccupied with texting his parents. He followed Sam's directions and saw the bathroom wedged into a tiny hallway off the living room and kitchen surrounded by three tiny bedrooms. He knew Sam probably felt embarrassed having someone over here, so he was determined not to say anything about Sam's family's recent problems. Seeing Sam's backpack just inside one of the doorways, Kurt figured it was Sam's room and peered inside. He did not turn on the light, but he could see the room was a little messy with some clothes and books on the floor. There was a bed pressed up in the corner with a desk by it that looked like its main use was to carry a small TV and a large stack of DVDs. Several posters were on the walls, but several were rolled up and propped against one edge of the desk. Apparently there wasn't enough wall space in this room for the posters of all the nerdy things Sam was obsessed with.

"Hey." Sam had come up an inch behind Kurt, and the unaware boy jumped and swore.

"Jesus, you scared me!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Sam laughed. "So you like my room?" Sam reached around Kurt and flipped on the lights, then brushed past Kurt into his room and flopped back onto his bed with his hands behind his head. Kurt was uncomfortably aware of how much their bodies made contact as Sam squeezed through the doorway. "It's not much, but this is my lair."

"I didn't mean to pry you know, I was just looking," Kurt said, not a little defiantly.

Sam just laughed at him. "Yeah, I know. It's just my room. It's not like you were rifling through my underwear drawer. But there it is next time I leave you unattended." Sam pointed at his dresser across the room from him with a teasing grin, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Oh, har har."

"So anyway, what do you wanna do?" Sam asked from where he was on his bed. "I guess there's not much to do now that I think about it. We could watch a movie?"

"That sounds okay to me. Do you have anything I would even remotely stand to watch?"

"Hey! Don't knock my stuff till you get a taste of it!" Sam gave Kurt a playfully stern look then motioned to the DVDs on the desk by the bed. "There's what I got. If you refuse to watch all of them, then I guess we're screwed."

Kurt knew Sam was a good sport, but he also knew Sam would be genuinely disappointed if Kurt deemed all of his favorite movies unworthy of viewing. He finally moved out of the doorway and went over to the stack of movies. They were all science fiction.

"Oh, and this is the only TV with a DVD player because it's built in. The one in the living room just gets basic, and we haven't been willing to spend the money on a separate player yet…so if you do find it in your patience to sit through a movie, we'll be stuck right here." Sam patted the bed next to him as Kurt looked over. "So I hope you don't mind sharing a bed with me."

Kurt could tell Sam was just joking around so much to compensate for the embarrassment he always felt when he thought people were aware of his family's money problems. He gave Sam an understanding smile. "Why, of course I don't mind sharing Sam Evans' bed." He laughed and then sat down on the edge of the bed next to Sam. "I don't know what to watch out of these choices, Sam. You pick. What does your little nerd heart want me to experience?"

"Um…oh God, I don't know." Sam bit his lip in concentration, and Kurt had to hold back a laugh at his absolutely serious face. "Wait, have you seen Avatar?"

"No. That's like your favorite movie, right? I thought you'd say that." Kurt looked around. There was definitely an Avatar poster or two hanging on the walls. Sam saw him looking.

"Yep. It's kinda obvious, right? I can't believe you haven't seen it, though. I've seen it like 15 or 20 times, at least. We have to watch it! I have to introduce you!"

"Okay, okay. Make sure I enjoy myself, though. I don't wanna miss sitting alone in my room listening to Finn and Puck yell and play video games all night."

"No, no, you'll love it! You have to! And I've seen it so much you can talk through it and I won't bite your head off or anything. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay, I said I was fine with it!" Kurt was amused to see how excited Sam got when he realized he was going to get to watch his favorite movie again. Sam jumped up and slid the movie in excitedly then lay back down on his bed.

"You're gonna love it!"

"Right. Okay, let's just watch it now, Sam." Kurt settled back onto his elbows. He suddenly became uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was sitting on Sam Evans' bed, practically leaning back onto him, alone. "Um, did you get a hold of your mom?"

"What?" Sam tore his eyes away from the TV to look at Kurt next to him. "Oh, yeah. She and my dad get off work at 12:30. I told 'em you were over. I said I didn't know how long you were gonna stay. I hope that's okay?"

"Hmm…well, yeah, that's okay, of course. What time is it, though? It has to be like 9 or 10 by now."

"Yeah, something like that. This movie's like three hours long, by the way." Sam eyed Kurt warily.

"What?" Kurt sighed. "Well…are you going to drive me back at 1 in the morning?"

"I could. You could just stay here, though."

"That sounds so much easier, but I don't know."

"Well it's three hours away. You have a lot of time to decide. I'm cool either way."

"Okay. I'll think about it." Kurt turned back to the movie. "So what's going on? Sorry for talking."

As Sam started to explain the back-story and the first five or ten minutes of the movie that Kurt had missed, Kurt repositioned himself because he was starting to ache leaning back on his elbows, and he ended up lying down on the bed to watch the movie just like Sam.

The movie wore on, and Kurt found his attention oddly captured by it. He had not thought he would enjoy the movie. It was no Evita, but Kurt could see how Sam appreciated it so much. In fact, Kurt thought it was charming Sam had things like this that he cared about so much. He found himself thinking of Blaine, their earlier fight, and all the little annoyances with Blaine that built up over time. Kurt could not help thinking resentfully that the only thing Blaine seemed to have that he cared a lot about in his life was himself. Eventually, Kurt noticed Sam had stopped making occasional comments and his breath had gone slow and rhythmic. He must have fallen asleep. Kurt was just thinking how strange it was that Sam Evans was sleeping peacefully next to him when he stopped watching the movie without his realizing it. His eyes closed, his thoughts drifted, and soon Kurt Hummel was asleep as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt let out a soft gasp as Sam held himself over Kurt and looked down at him, biting his lip shyly. "Sam…"

"You are such a beautiful person, Kurt. It breaks my heart to see you be with Blaine and see him treating you like you're anything less than an amazing guy. I'm not great with words, but…" Sam lowered himself, and Kurt could feel his breath now when he spoke. Sam's shaggy blond hair framed his face, and he was so close that it was brushing against Kurt's forehead. Kurt's gaze was held by Sam's eyes, which stayed steady despite the nervousness evident in his lip-biting and shaking voice. "You deserve someone who cares. And I care about you a lot."

Kurt felt like his heart was going to burst right out of his chest, Sam's face was so close to his. Kurt whispered up at the boy inches from him, "Sam, I—well…I do deserve that. What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want to make you happy." And then in a moment that seemed to last forever, Kurt felt Sam's lips press against his, softly at first. Kurt had wanted this for so long, wanted this affection from this caring boy who had deigned to befriend him and spend his summer with him, and he relaxed under Sam's touch and returned it, pressing back against Sam's lips.

At this invitation, Sam let himself down off his elbow, and Kurt felt his whole body lower down onto his own. Kurt could feel Sam's body heat and every contour of his body through what clothes he had fallen asleep in, and he let out a little gasp of sudden pleasure. Sam brought one hand up and lightly held the side of Kurt's face before moving it back and running it through Kurt's hair. Kurt pulled his face away from Sam's for a moment to push him over onto his side and then got on his side so they were face to face.

"Sam, I don't really understand. But you're right. I don't want Blaine. I want you."

Sam just smirked at him. Kurt wrapped his arm around Sam, pulled him into a tight embrace, and kissed him like he had never kissed anyone before. He felt Sam's tongue and welcomed it. He felt Sam running his hands over his body and got chills. Kurt was feeling more pleasure in this moment than he could remember ever having, and they were so tightly pressed together that Sam must have been able to feel it too, because he pulled away to reach down and fumble with Kurt's shirt.

Kurt pulled his mouth away and looked down. "Wait, here, just let me." And Kurt was taking off his shirt, and Sam was pulling off his own, and Sam was pulling off Kurt's pants. They were nearly naked already, but Kurt felt that was not nearly naked enough. He felt all the sexual tension that had existed between them for weeks reaching a head, about to explode. Sam moved himself above Kurt again and kissed him lightly on the lips. Kurt pressed back fiercely, but Sam moved to his jaw and then his neck as Kurt whimpered. Sam was kissing Kurt all over his body, moving farther and farther down, and Kurt could barely hold back a moan. Sam got to his navel and paused to slide his fingers under the waistband of Kurt's underwear. With one arm he lifted Kurt's hips up off the bed, and with the other he slid the underwear down, just slowly enough for Kurt to gasp and push at his hand to go faster. Tossing away the last bit of clothing, Sam bent back down and tried to resume kissing Kurt's hips, but Kurt bucked upward toward Sam. Kurt could not take it any longer. This boy was teasing him with his kisses. Sam took the hint and moved his kisses to the prize. Kurt moaned and opened his eyes.

…He was awake. Awake? Kurt was breathing heavily. He brought his hand to his mouth and brushed his fingers over his lips, remembering the touches he had just been feeling, touches that had seemed so very _real_. Suddenly noting warmth to his left, Kurt turned his head and could see Sam sleeping deeply next to him, breathing slowly and quietly, his face illuminated by the TV that had been left on the whole time they had been sleeping. He had fallen asleep on Sam's bed next to him. Kurt lay there for a minute, soaking in the mild horror at what his unconscious had just had him dream. A sex dream about Sam Evans, _by whose side he had fallen asleep_. He could only imagine how Blaine would feel if he told him about this; Blaine had already shared suspicions about Sam's recently flourishing friendship with Kurt, suspicions Kurt had always dismissed as paranoid and ill-founded. But here he was, having _slept_ with Sam.

Kurt turned his back to Sam, whose face he was a little too embarrassed to see right now, and looked at the clock: 8:12 AM.

"…Shit. Sam!" Kurt turned back toward Sam and whispered urgently at him. There was no response after several tries. Sam was a deep sleeper, apparently. Reaching out across the distance between them that Kurt thought was a just little too short considering the images still filling his head, he gingerly grabbed Sam's shoulder and shook gently. Sam was warm in his hand, and Kurt hated himself for noticing the muscle he could feel so clearly.

"Ungh. Huh?" Sam mumbled and groaned incoherently as he woke up with a sound that reminded Kurt all too vividly of his dream once again. "Oh. Hey, Kurt," Sam said lazily up at Kurt from his pillow with sleep in his eyes before closing his eyes again and smiling.

"Yeah, don't 'hey, Kurt' me! It's eight in the morning!"

"Is it? Plenty of time to keep sleeping then." Sam reached out an arm and pulled Kurt, who had propped himself up on one arm, back onto the bed and gave a sleepy chuckle when he heard Kurt protest.

"Sam, stop!" Kurt pushed Sam's arm off him a little too hurriedly and forcefully and sat back up. "I didn't mean to fall asleep here!"

"Kurt, geez, chill out, dude. I told you last night I didn't mind." Kurt's reaction was waking Sam up fully, and he rubbed his eyes and rolled over onto his side to face Kurt.

"I know, but…but I didn't plan on it. And my dad's probably wondering what happened to me!"

"Did you check your phone?"

Kurt jammed his hand into his pocket and dug out his phone. "Nothing…"

"Yeah. I mean, you told him you were here. I've stayed at your place with Finn before. He's clearly not worried. Kurt, I don't know why you're, like, freaking out on me. Did you have something to do today? It's only eight."

"Well, no, not really."

"Okay, well then calm down. You're allowed to sleep over. You're acting a little crazy."

"Don't call me crazy!"

Sam just yawned and stretched animatedly. His shirt rode up, and Kurt pointedly looked away, remembering how much more he could see in his head just a couple minutes before. Sam settled himself back into a comfortable position on the bed and looked at Kurt for a few moments.

"Is this 'cause you fell asleep with me in my bed?"

Kurt would have gladly died at that moment for the blood he could feel rushing to his face. "What? No, of course not! I mean, I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to, but no, that's not what this is about, I mean, what do you mean 'this,' there's no this—," Kurt's voice faltered as Sam started laughing.

"Kurt! Oh my God, calm down," he said between laughs, "it's okay! In fact, you can sleep with me some more if you want. It's only eight." Sam winked jokingly, wrapped his hand around Kurt's arm, and tried teasing him back down onto the bed, but Kurt pulled away.

"You are side-splittingly hilarious as always. I shouldn't. I don't think I should have in the first place. It's not really appropriate."

"Not appropriate?" Sam gave Kurt a look ripe with confused disbelief. "Dude, it's not like we _slept_ together. All we did was sleep."

"Well. Be that as it may…" Kurt's words trailed off, and he traced a pattern on the sheets with his finger while avoiding Sam's eye.

Sam clapped his hands in front of him. "Welp. Fine then, if you're gonna refuse any more sleep, how 'bout some breakfast?"

Kurt looked at Sam for a second and smiled. "Sure."

Sam got up and led the way out of his bedroom. When he opened the door, Kurt heard a woman's voice. "Sam?"

"Morning, Mom."

"You're up early!"

"Kurt decided he was done with sleep." Sam motioned for Kurt to sit down at the kitchen table.

"Oh?" Sam's mother walked out of her bedroom with her hands up to her ears, putting in earrings. Kurt could tell she was in a hurry. "Hello, I'm Sam's mom. Well, that's obvious, isn't it? You can call me Cheryl, Kurt was it? Sorry, I didn't realize you had stayed the night."

"No need to apologize. I hope I'm not an imposition." Kurt said from where he had sat at the table. He was feeling slightly awkward.

"Sam! I like this one! He's so polite," she said with a warm smile to Kurt.

"Don't worry, he can be fiery." Kurt shot Sam an irritated look, but he knew he was just kidding. "Kurt is Finn's stepbrother, by the way."

"Oh, so I practically know you already!" Cheryl said to Kurt, "I'm glad we're finally meeting." She smiled at him again before retreating back to her bedroom.

Sam gave Kurt an awkward half-smile. "Yep, there's my mom. She's…well, she's my mom."

Kurt returned the smile. "I like her."

"Thank you, Kurt! You know, Sam, I can hear you. This place is so small I'm basically five feet from you!" Cheryl yelled from her bedroom while Kurt stifled a laugh at the indignant look on Sam's face.

Sam rolled his eyes and turned around to open a cupboard. "Hope you're okay with cereal?"

"Yeah, who isn't?"

"Well, I've always wondered if you were much of a diva in the morning. I half expected you to request breakfast in bed." Sam turned around with a box of cereal and a couple bowls in his hands and a big grin on his face.

"I can have cereal for breakfast in bed, you know," Kurt replied playfully as Sam set the food down on the table in front of him, and then added, "And you've 'always wondered'?"

Sam came back over with milk and spoons. He sat down and pointed his spoon at Kurt before answering, "Well yeah, you know, all those times I imagined you just _accidentally_—," here Sam added air quotes with his hands, "—falling asleep next to me in my bed." Kurt widened his eyes and made to reply to Sam's teasing bait.

"Aww! You two fell asleep together? That is so cute!" Sam's mom cooed as she bustled out of her room fully made up with her purse in one hand.

"Yeah, bye, Mom," Sam said with a tone that told her all too clearly it was time to leave.

"Keys!" Sam grabbed a set of car keys lying in the middle of the table and threw them to his mother. "I'm off, boys! And Kurt," Cheryl pointed straight at him and said in what sounded to him like complete seriousness, "make sure Sammy stays out of trouble today. 'Kay, bye! Love you muchos!"

As the door snapped shut, Kurt turned to Sam, who laughed at the look of concern visible on Kurt's face. "Don't worry, she was kidding. I would say she tries to embarrass me, but she really doesn't. She's just naturally embarrassing."

"Ah. Well I do like her. She's not wanting in personality."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Kurt," Sam said distractedly as he poured himself some breakfast.

"What about your dad? He isn't here, is he?"

"Naw, he's probably at work already."

"Work? Already? At eight on a Saturday morning? Is that where your mom went?"

"Well, yeah. I don't work till tonight, though. I know it's the weekend, but we still owe some people a good amount of money. I mean, you know that."

"Yeah…I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean anything." Kurt felt terrible. He had not meant to bring the conversation here.

"I know you didn't. Don't worry about it." Sam reassured him, but Kurt still felt bad nonetheless. They were silent for a couple minutes, the only sounds between them the tings of their spoons in their bowls.

"I enjoyed Avatar, by the way," Kurt mentioned tentatively. He was relieved to see Sam look up excitedly.

"You did? That's great!"

"It wasn't my favorite, of course, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. It was a good movie for what it was trying to be, from what I saw anyway. I probably fell asleep halfway through, though."

Sam looked elated. "That's fine. I can't really blame you since I didn't even last that long. I'm just happy you approve!"

Kurt tutted at him. "I don't know what you need my approval for."

"Well, I care about what you think, I don't know. I was just saying." Sam just shrugged, but Kurt barely hid his reaction to Sam's reply when he was reminded once more of the dream he had awoken from and dream Sam's confession of care for him.

Sam drove Kurt home later that morning. As he got out of the car, Kurt paused to say 'bye. "Thanks for the ride. I had a really nice time, Sammy," he said with a knowing smile.

Sam gave him an affronted look. "Hey. You didn't hear her call me that."

"Uh huh," Kurt said as he walked away toward his house. Sam was reminded of one of his first conversations with Kurt so strongly that he wondered whether Kurt was deliberately referencing it. He watched Kurt go inside, and then got out his phone and texted Mercedes, telling her he wanted to tell her about what happened after they left the carnival, not knowing Kurt was doing the same just inside his house.

* * *

><p>"Lord, Kurt, you were actin' a hot mess. Actually you probably were makin' a hot mess."<p>

"Ew, Mercedes. But I know, tell me about it. I was mortified. Still am." Kurt had just gotten done sharing every detail of his night and morning with Sam he felt comfortable sharing.

"You're really not gonna tell me about the dream?"

"You know all you need to know, trust me. All I'll ever say is that it was a dream Blaine wouldn't like hearing about." Kurt sighed. He hated keeping anything from Blaine, but he could not bring himself to share what his subconscious had subjected him to. He had not been able to help it, right? What would telling Blaine accomplish? It would just make him upset. Kurt had not wanted to dream about that, anyway. Right?

"I still can't believe you slept with him." Mercedes laughed, much to Kurt's chagrin. "You're gonna hate me for sayin' this, but as a friend of both of you, that just sounds so damn cute!"

"Yeah, that's what his mom said too."

Mercedes' eyes widened. "She knows you slept together? She thought it was cute, though…cool mom? Or somethin'."

"Or something." Kurt had been wondering about that too, although he did not tell Mercedes so. Sam's mom had been absolutely delighted to hear he and Kurt had fallen asleep together. Kurt just could not decide if she was just teasing Sam, innocently thought it was cute, or had some reason to think it was actually as cute as she acted like it was; she did not even know Kurt was gay though, did she? Kurt could not think how she could. His mind kept gravitating toward the latter reason for her reaction, and he had to keep convincing himself that logically that was the least likely explanation.

"Between you and Sam, sometimes I feel like a hag with dual citizenship," Mercedes said half to herself with a shake of her head.

"Um, what? How does being friends with me and _Sam_ make you feel that way?" Kurt said shrewdly, narrowing his eyes at her.

"What? Oh!" Mercedes thought fast. "I didn't mean it that way. I guess I just mean, you know, bein' friends with two guys who share stuff with me," she lied through her teeth.

Kurt looked at her for a few seconds before deciding to buy it. "Alright, but I should tell you, it doesn't do to start thinking of straight guys as gay. Believe me, I should know."

"Yeah, yeah, you're totally right. I didn't really mean it that way anyway. I don't know, forget what I said, I wasn't thinking," she added with a hollow laugh and decided it was high time she got a move on. Mercedes checked her phone and sighed. "Anyway, sorry, Kurt, but I gotta go. I told my mom I wouldn't be out long. I'm so glad you told me to get my ass over here, though! This is some straight up juice right here."

"Yeah, if you wanna call it that. Thanks for listening to my horrific story." Kurt got up and walked with Mercedes to the door.

"Kurt, I don't know what you're talking about, it sounds like you loved your night. Until you woke up anyway." Kurt rolled his eyes, and Mercedes trotted off out the door to her car, cackling at his expense.

* * *

><p>"Sam, do you know how stressful it is to have to run back and forth between you and Kurt while pretending like you're both not talking to me about the same thing?" Mercedes asked a little breathlessly as she walked into Sam's apartment.<p>

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, Mercedes! You didn't have to come over, though."

"Yeah, but I wanted to hear your side of the story. I already saw Kurt."

"Oh. Um, what did he tell you?"

"What, don't you know? What do you think he'd tell me?" Mercedes said playfully.

"Don't tease me. That's why I asked; I wanna know what he thought was worth telling you." Sam could not stop his tone from betraying his intense curiosity.

"Well, I know you slept together," Mercedes said with a wink and then a laugh when she saw Sam's sheepish look of accomplishment.

"Yeah…I'm not gonna pretend that I secretly wasn't pretty pleased about that. But I didn't plan it, honest. I just fell asleep. And then he did," he replied with a shrug.

Mercedes gave Sam a calculating once-over before saying hesitantly, "You know, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but—,"

"Tell me what? Oh my God."

"—_but_ apparently Kurt…had a dream he finds a little embarrassing."

"Does that mean what it sounds like? And do you mean _while he was sleeping in my bed_?"

"Yeah. Actually he woke up directly from it. He had a dream about you two that he isn't even comfortable telling me about in any detail."

"Oh my God! That explains why he was acting weird! Gah, I'm so dumb, it should have been obvious!" Sam said to himself.

"He was acting weird? He didn't tell me that. Like when he woke up, I'm guessing?"

"Well yeah. He nudged me awake and was propped up next to me—which about stopped my heart by the way, it was something I'd imagined a million times before—and started to freak out about having fallen asleep and everything. And then refused to fall back asleep even though it was only eight. I even tried pulling him back onto the bed. That should have worked, I thought," Sam quipped.

Mercedes just rolled her eyes. "You would. But yeah, that reaction makes sense considering what was probably still going through his head. You have to understand he feels a loyalty to Blaine. I mean, duh, but I have to point it out anyway."

"Yeah, I know. One of the many qualities that make us love him…" Sam said wistfully.

Mercedes had to look away to hide her enormous smile at what Sam no doubt had no idea he had just said. Regaining her composure, she turned back to Sam. "It should be obvious after yesterday, but him and Blaine aren't such a perfect couple anymore. Well, I don't think they ever were, but you know what I mean. I know that we kinda decided you'd just have to settle, for now at least, to just be a friend to him, and I definitely don't wanna be givin' you false hope or nothin', but if you just stick it out and be there for him, I honestly think pretty soon he's gonna call it quits with Blaine. And then who knows?"

Sam just gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, Mercedes. It's nice to think that might happen. I can't let myself hope for that, though. It's been nearly a year of this crap, and I love being his friend, but letting myself dwell on it just makes me sad. Like you said, who knows? I'll just take what moments I can, though. This morning was so nice. And I think for now I just have to be okay with nice."

Mercedes reached over and gave Sam's hand a squeeze. She remembered her comment to Kurt about having to juggle friendships with both Kurt and Sam when it was so much more complicated than just a friendship. She hoped for both of their sakes that Kurt might finally realize how much Sam cared about him and how much he ultimately cared about Sam.


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey sam if youre free would you mind coming over?_

Sam had not seen Kurt in over a week, so his sudden text message had spurred Sam's curiosity and dread. He could not help but find Kurt's text a little ominous, so seeing what was up with Kurt was his top priority as he tried to get to Kurt's house quickly, swearing every time he caught a yellow light.

Although he tried not to feel like he was entitled to spend time with Kurt, Sam still felt a little lonely after more than a week going by without the two of them spending any time together. With a sudden shiver, Sam rolled up his window. A cold front was coming in, and even though it was the middle of July, it was perilously close to being chilly with the wind. What was this? Ohio weather. Sam felt an old ache for Tennessee. This weird weather somehow found a way to remind him of the home he had left. Sam had come to stop begrudging his new town, though; finding camaraderie with Kurt in a friendship whose confusing feelings had helped Sam start to discover himself certainly let him be grateful for Lima and the boy he was on his way to see.

Upon pulling up in front of Kurt's place, Sam hopped out of his car and walked briskly up to the door. He had to wait so long after ringing the doorbell that his hand was on its way back to it to ring again when Kurt finally opened the door. Sam could not read Kurt's expression at all. It was blank but definitely artificially so.

"Kurt, what's up? You never responded to me when I texted you back."

"Oh, yeah, I know, sorry about that. I just didn't know who else to get a hold of," Kurt said with a voice that made it very clear to Sam that something was up.

"What's the matter? Something happened, I can tell. Are you okay?"

Kurt just looked at Sam like he was thinking hard about something for a couple seconds. "Sam, come inside and sit down." Sam came through the door and followed Kurt over to the living room and sat down without breaking his gaze with the other boy.

"Kurt."

"I know. I'm sorry; I know I asked you to come." Kurt was poised on an armchair looking into space with the pursed lips and introspective expression Sam had come to know belied a strong emotion in him. "Blaine and I had a fight."

"…A fight?"

"It sounds stupid, I know. I didn't mean to call you over here for something stupid. I just—it was a big fight. And I have lots of thoughts and feelings going through my head about the fight and about Blaine and about everything. And I'm sorry, I just…well I guess I just needed a shoulder to cry on, so to speak. But I'm not about to cry, I promise."

"Don't apologize for that. That's what I'm here for!" Sam could hardly believe his ears. Kurt wanted to open up about his feelings and he was apologizing for it. "So are you okay?"

"I don't know. I mean, yes. I'm okay. But I don't know what to do about this."

"About Blaine?"

"Yes." Kurt began absentmindedly fiddling with his laptop he had left sitting open on the coffee table. Sam could tell he probably felt uncomfortable sharing this with him. But Sam suspected, or hoped maybe, that Kurt really did want to share.

"Well…what was the fight about?" Sam asked cautiously.

"I don't know that what it was _about_ is really important, you know? It was a big one though. I think probably because it was long overdue. Bottom line is he's mad at me. But I don't know if I—," he stopped short as his phone started ringing. "That's his ringtone…I'm sorry I have to answer him. Here, stave off boredom while I deal with life," he added while scooting his laptop toward Sam.

Sam just sat for a few seconds listening to Kurt pick up and start talking to his boyfriend. Sam nearly thought _ex-boyfriend_, but he stopped himself and pushed that wishful thinking away. Sighing, he grabbed the computer and made to go check Facebook or something else equally inane, but soon lost all pretense of using the computer as he listened to Kurt's phone call. He kept his eyes on the computer screen but Kurt's voice had his attention one hundred percent. He felt just a little bit guilty eavesdropping, but Kurt had not even gotten up from his seat, so Sam decided he could hardly be blamed for listening.

"Blaine, no—no, I did not do anything!...No….You're being ridicul—," Kurt paused and sighed heavily as Blaine interrupted him, and Sam could just hear his voice on the other end nearly shouting into the receiver from the sounds of it.

"No…no, for the last time no!...No, I already explained….What? No, I'm not alone….Oh, you _would_ think that….Jesus, I cannot believe you! You are so full of yourself!" Kurt paused with the phone pressed hard against his ear with a defiant look on his face. "Ha, why shouldn't I say what's the truth?" Sam's eyes widened as the argument got really heated. He had to admire Kurt's ability to hold his own. He wanted to know what had triggered the fight in the first place so badly, though. Sam sat there listening to Kurt argue with his boyfriend through the entire phone call, which lasted over half an hour. For the most part, Sam could only hear Kurt's half of the argument, so he could not make much sense of what the two were fighting about. But he could tell Kurt was getting more upset as it wore on. It had already been a little late when Kurt had texted Sam, and by the time Kurt hung up it was nearly eight at night.

When he heard Kurt say his closing remarks and hang up, Sam looked over. Kurt was sitting stony-faced with his phone in one hand, staring up at the ceiling. Sam could tell he was willing himself not to cry. This boy needed to know that he was there for him and that he did not need to be afraid to have feelings in front of him. Sam closed the laptop he had not paid any attention to and set it aside.

"Kurt. Come here." He presented the space next to him with one arm.

Kurt glanced at the space Sam had indicated and then, after hesitating, came over and sat against him, leaning into the embrace that Sam had waiting for him. Sam just wrapped his arms around Kurt and squeezed gently to communicate what he thought words would not be able to get across. He felt him shudder with a silent sob in his arms. Sam never felt more cheated than right then that he could not make everything perfect for Kurt, that he could not just lean his face in and kiss him. He sat there holding Kurt for a couple of minutes, knowing Kurt just needed someone there so that he could feel something and not be alone. Kurt did not seem to be fully crying, but judging from the wetness he could feel where Kurt had rested his face against his shirt, Sam knew there were tears Kurt was getting out of his system. It was all Sam could do not to cry himself.

With a shaky sigh to regain his control of himself, Kurt wiped his eyes and sat up to look at Sam. Sam smiled encouragingly and gave him another squeeze. "I guess it didn't go so well then?"

Kurt laughed with a sniffle and turned away to wipe his eyes again. "I can't believe you're here."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not running for the hills. I'm acting a mess. You just invited me to come cry into you. Blaine certainly wouldn't do that," Kurt said with all the markings of disgust on his face. "I appreciate it, Sam," he said confidently and without any embarrassment.

"I know you do." Sam paused, and the two of them just sat and looked at each other for a few seconds. "So…do you wanna talk through this?" Sam suggested.

Kurt leaned his head against Sam's shoulder and let out an exhausted sigh. "Actually, do you wanna take me somewhere?" Sam looked down at Kurt and gave him a questioning look. "Anywhere. I wanna get out of here. I wanna go somewhere to take my mind off this. Or maybe to process it better. I don't know. But I wanna go somewhere. I'd actually hoped you would when I first texted you. Would you?"

Sam smiled at Kurt. "Of course I will. Just consider me your own personal therapy for the night."

As they stood up together and headed toward the door, Kurt said quietly but strongly, "I don't know what I would do without you, Sam."

"Ditto, Kurt. You have no idea." Kurt just laughed and sniffled again.

Other than reassuring Sam that he just wanted to go somewhere when asked where they should go, Kurt did not say a word the whole car ride. Sam chalked it up to his obvious need at the moment to just process his emotions. He thought he heard Kurt sniffling a lot at one point and wondered whether he was crying again but did not turn his head to investigate.

Kurt was finally roused from his reverie when Sam pulled into a parking lot. He looked round at the darkening twilit trees jutting into the orange and purple sky then the deserted gravel parking lot.

"Where are we?"

Sam put his car in park then shut off the engine before turning to Kurt with a shy half-smile. "I guess you really were in your own little world for the past few minutes. This is some park a couple miles outside of town."

Kurt looked around outside again, then turned and raised an eyebrow at Sam and got out of the car. Sam followed suit. "My outfit is hardly excited about this adventure."

Sam leaned up against the car and looked down, kicking at the gravel. "Sorry, this is just where I ended up." Kurt just stared at him. Sam glanced up at Kurt and continued a little hesitantly, "Actually, I come here sometimes. When I wanna be alone or clear my head or just think about things. You said you wanted to do that, so I just thought…I don't know. We can go somewhere else."

Sam looked up and saw Kurt was still staring at him. After a moment, Kurt's face changed almost imperceptibly and he shook his head slightly. "No. Now that I think about it, this is fine. I did tell you just to take me anywhere, and this is anywhere. Besides, this place works for you."

"Great," Sam said with a smile and then walked around the car to where Kurt was, taking off his letterman and holding it out to Kurt. "Here, though. I know your clothes are worth a lot more than mine, so I don't want you to be worried about nature stuff gettin' on them. And a jacket might help right now," he added as a slight breeze picking up reminded them of the unseasonal temperature.

"Oh. Well, you don't want it?"

"No, I'm fine. You take it."

"Okay, if you want." Kurt let Sam slip the jacket over his shoulders. He gave Sam a sad smile as thanks and then looked around at the parking lot. "So are we just hanging out here?"

"No, of course not. Here, follow me." Sam smiled softly at Kurt and before he could protest grabbed Kurt's hand and led him away toward the trees.

Kurt almost pulled his hand away but could not bring himself to. The touch of Sam's hand comforted him, and he could tell Sam was taking him somewhere he had never gone to with anyone else. "Sam!"

"Don't worry! There's a trail here, see?" And indeed Kurt could make out a break in the trees Sam was leading him into. "I know it's getting dark, but we're not going far."

"I trust you." Sam looked back at Kurt, and they locked eyes for a few seconds while they walked. Kurt gave Sam's hand a squeeze. Sam turned back around. Kurt had to wonder at Sam's behavior. He was being so supportive, and though Kurt was touched, he did not know how to take it.

"Here, through here." There was a fence about fifty feet into the trees. They both stopped, and Sam withdrew his hand to stand off to the side and motion Kurt through. Kurt just stared at the opening in the fence.

"Are we allowed through here?"

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone's paid attention to this fence for years. It's broken and in the middle of the woods. Come on, go on through! It's worth it."

"There's barbed wire…"

"Don't worry, you can get through," Sam said and then saw Kurt looking down at his clothes. "Oh…here, I'll widen it so you don't catch your clothes." He reached over and gingerly worked his fingers over the wire until he had a good grip on barb-less spots and pulled.

"Oh! Sam! Honestly." Kurt tried to stop Sam from going to the trouble, but the other boy had already pulled one side of the gap in the fence back so that Kurt could get through with room to spare. "You don't have to go out of your way," he muttered as he slipped through the gap in the fence. Sam released the fence and rubbed his hands on his pants, shaking his head and grinning at Kurt's protestations as he slipped through the fence after him.

The two boys walked out into an open, natural field at the top of a hill bound by the tall trees of the woods on three sides. It extended down the side of the hill, and from their vantage point they had a wonderful view of the outskirts of Lima.

"Isn't it pretty?" Sam walked out into the middle of the clearing with his hands clasped behind his head. Kurt stood watching him. He could tell Sam had come here many times before.

"You come here often?" Sam turned around at Kurt's question to look at him. He shrugged.

"Not often. Not really, anyway. I used to come more than I have lately." He turned back around and faced the lights starting to blink on in the distance. He stood for a second more and then dropped his hands and walked a short distance farther and sat down. Kurt could not see where he had sat through the tall grass, so he finally walked out into the clearing after Sam. After carefully placing his footsteps to avoid the gnarlier weeds, Kurt looked up and saw he had made his way over to Sam, who he could see was sitting on a smooth rock jutting out from the side of the hill. Sam looked up at him as Kurt came over and sat down by his side. The rock, warmed under the sun all day, was comfortable in the cool breeze.

Sam cleared his throat and added a moment later, "Actually, I can thank you for that."

"For what?" Kurt leaned forward and locked his arms around his knees, looking over at Sam, who was still looking out at the distant lights.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on his hands. He looked at Kurt. "For me not coming here so much, I guess. You've been such a great friend to me, and since you started helping me out at the motel and especially since we've been hanging out more this summer, I've just been…happier. I don't get overwhelmed and run off to this place to think about everything so much anymore."

Kurt looked back at Sam and just took him in for a few seconds. "Well that makes me happy. I don't want you to get overwhelmed. I think that's small repayment on my part for what you do for me. You came over to my place with no explanation and have put up with my angst all night. You go out of your way to make sure I'm okay and get cheered up whenever I have problems with Blaine. Who are you kidding? _You're_ the great friend, Sam."

Sam smiled at Kurt in a way that told him Sam did not really believe him and then looked down. Kurt turned and looked back out at the edge of the city. Almost all the buildings he could see had their lights on. He thought about why he had had Sam take him out here and sighed.

"…I think we're through."

"What?" Sam said sharply.

"Me and Blaine."

"Oh! Really?" Sam sounded relieved.

Kurt smiled and turned to face him. "I didn't mean us." He almost laughed at Sam's momentary horror, but then his face fell again. "But yeah. Being with him, I haven't been satisfied for a while. And after today, it's just not worth maintaining anymore. I don't think it has been for a while now." He could feel himself tearing up, and he turned pointedly back toward the view below them to avoid Sam's gaze.

"I assume you've thought about this. I hope you didn't decide that sitting here just now."

"When I went to see him today, I wanted to tell him I thought we should reevaluate our relationship." Kurt rested his chin on his knees and looked at Sam. "Don't worry. I've been having these thoughts for some time."

Sam huffed air out and blew his bangs out of his face. "Wow. Tough break." Kurt smiled at his reaction. "So…how are you? Are you okay?"

"I'll be okay. I got my tears out. Being here with you seems to make it all easier." They both sat there in silence for a few minutes.

After a short time, Sam lowered himself back until he was lying down flat on the rock and stared up into the sky. Kurt turned at the sound his shifting and watched him lie down. Sam in turn watched the last of the scarlet clouds turn dark as they drifted past under the deep purple sky and saw the first stars begin to come out. "Do you ever look up at the sky? Like, really look?"

"You know, I can't say I have. It's just sorta always there." Kurt glanced up then started when he felt Sam's hand on his shoulder.

"Will you look with me?" Kurt remembered the last time he'd been around Sam when he had playfully pulled Kurt down onto the bed. This was not like that. Sam's touch was gentle and did not force him at all. Kurt took the invitation and lay back onto the rock, and Sam put his hand back at his side. Closing his eyes, Kurt inhaled deeply. He could feel the warmth of the stone even through the jacket Sam had let him use. "See 'em? The stars?"

Kurt opened his eyes. "What few there are, yes. I can't say I really know what I'm looking at, though."

Sam laughed softly at Kurt's comment. "Like I do? There'll be more though." He lay there quiet for a minute. Kurt thought about how meaningful this outing and this moment was to both of them and felt his breathing hitch in his chest at the romance of it all and how naïve he was for even thinking about it that way. Together they watched more of the evening sky fill with stars, sometimes obscured by passing clouds.

"Kurt?"

"Mm?"

Sam paused for a while again before speaking. "When I come out here—or used to come out here, I guess—I'd just lie here like this sometimes and stare at the sky. Not only here, but this place is far enough from town that I get to be alone for a long time and I get a good view of the stars." Kurt turned his head and watched Sam as he spoke. "It fascinates me. It always has, ever since I was a little boy. Space, I mean: 'the final frontier.' I think about all there is out there. All the stars, all the planets. All the mountains I'll never climb, all the massive thunderstorms I'll never weather, all the nebulae I'll never behold."

Sam turned and looked at Kurt so that they were looking at each other. "I think that's why I love science fiction, _Star Wars_ and everything, I mean. I try to keep my geekiness on the DL most of the time, but I know you won't give me crap for it." He glanced back up at the stars then looked at Kurt again. "There's just so much out there, so much that no one will ever experience."

Sam turned back to the open sky, and Kurt spoke. "I've never thought about it that way, to be honest. But, you know, Sam, there's so much right here and now too. There's so much right here left for you to see and experience. So much you _can_ experience."

"I know." Sam turned and propped his head up on one elbow so that he was facing Kurt. "I know that. That's why I think about it. The universe…_everything_…it's so vast. I don't have a choice but to feel like my life and my problems are small and insignificant and manageable. You have no idea how calming that's been to me in the past several months. But it's not only that now. Lying here in this spot with you, looking up at the same spot in the sky I've looked up at a dozen times before, it makes me realize that. There _is_ so much here. This is my own little patch of the vastness of everything, and I have to make the most of it. I can't let anything hold me back from seeing what I want to see, doing what I want to do, and experiencing what I want to experience." Sam stopped for a moment and gave Kurt an intense, searching look. "Do you know what I'm trying to say, Kurt?"

"I'm not sure I do…" Kurt was confused and tried to shake his growing suspicions from his mind. "What do you mean? Is there something you're trying to tell me?"

Sam sighed. "Yes." Kurt watched him closely as Sam slumped onto his back again and returned to staring at the sky, silent. He would be disappointed if Sam stayed silent, but Kurt did not want to push him to anything if he was not ready, especially if what the crazy, fantasy-prone part of his brain was screaming at him was true.

"Kurt…" Kurt was still watching him, but Sam was determined to look anywhere but at Kurt when he spoke. "I hope you really are through with Blaine, because it kills me to see you with him. You deserve better than him. You deserve someone who knows they're lucky to have you. And you deserve someone who appreciates you for who you are and doesn't expect you to change for them."

Kurt felt like he was going to die. This was far too similar to fantastic thoughts he had had and far too similar to the dream he had not been able to shake for over a week.

"Sam—,"

"Hold on. Please?" Kurt assented by staying quiet. "Remember when we met? Remember when you were so sure you had me figured out?" Kurt was silent still. "That was so long ago, it seems now. But you were right. You did have me figured out. You had me figured out more than I had myself figured out. I'm not even sure I have myself figured out now." Sam gave a nervous laugh and chanced a look at Kurt before looking away again.

"So…so…you do dye your hair?" Kurt was playing dumb. He could not believe this was happening. He had to be misinterpreting Sam's words.

Sam finally made eye contact with Kurt and simply stared. "Kurt. You have to know that's not what I'm talking about." He maneuvered himself so that he was back on one elbow and turned toward Kurt and sighed to steel himself for the plunge. "Meeting you triggered something in me. You didn't change me, but you opened my eyes. It took a while. It wasn't until you were at Dalton that I realized it. And then Blaine entered the picture, and my heart broke. Kurt, I care about you. I care about you like I have never cared for anyone else."

Kurt could have died in that moment. Surely this was what cardiac arrest felt like? But it felt so wonderful. He could not believe he had just heard Sam Evans speak those words to him. "You care about me? As in, you wish we were more than just friends?"

"I've wanted to be more than your friend for longer than even I've known."

"I can't believe this is happening." Kurt gave a nervous giggle and then beamed at Sam. "You have no idea how long I have wanted to hear those words." And with that he saw Sam break into the biggest and most genuine smile Kurt had seen him have since moving to Lima.

"Serious?" Sam could not contain his happiness and suddenly did not know what to say next. "Is this the part where I kiss you—," But his question was cut off as Kurt threw himself at Sam and pushed him back onto the stone so fiercely Sam knocked his head and saw stars behind his eyelids, but all he could feel was the pressure of Kurt against his lips. They stayed locked in that kiss for what felt to Sam like a lifetime but what could not have been more than a few seconds. Kurt pushed himself up and looked down at Sam from on top of him with a smile and tears pooling in his eyes. Sam felt his heart flutter and he exhaled shakily.

"You okay?" Kurt asked happily.

"I think I'll be okay," Sam answered with a sheepish half-smile. "What about you? Are you crying?"

"Not quite. Teary, though. I'm just so happy, and there's so many feelings," Kurt said as he lay back down next to Sam.

"Tonight's been an emotional night." Kurt responded by moving his hand over and taking Sam's in his. They lay together holding hands for a few minutes more, and then Sam pointed up into the sky. "Look! I think that's Mars!"

"Is it the reddish one?"

"I think so. Let's just say it is," Sam said with a freeing laugh then added, "I used to think Mars was the god of love. Quinn had to correct me. Apparently it's Venus."

"Well, you know what they say. Girls go to Venus, boys go to Mars." Kurt said smiling lazily up at the sky.

"It all makes sense now."

Sam lay next to Kurt thinking about how this had to be a dream he would awake from in the morning. It was too good to be true. But here Kurt Hummel was, lying next to him on a rock in the middle of a clearing in the woods, holding his hand. They stayed there together just drinking in each other's company for several minutes before Sam broke the silence with a sudden thought.

"You'll probably think this is stupid, but you know everyone's couple names?"

"Oh, goodness. Like Pizes and Finchel?"

"Yeah. I just thought…if we had one, it could be Hevans," Sam said as he blushed. "It seems kind of perfect, considering where we are." He motioned toward the sky.

Kurt squeezed Sam's hand. "That is so romantic it almost put me in a coma."

Sam laughed then released Kurt's hand and stood up. "I think it's late enough for us to go. We're probably here illegally since this place closes at nine." He reached out a hand and pulled Kurt to his feet.

"Well then I guess it is time to tell this rock goodbye." Kurt squatted down and gave the rock they'd spent the past hour on a pat. "If rocks could talk."

"This one wouldn't have much of a story."

"It's a story that means a lot to me," Kurt said as he stood up. Sam put his arm around Kurt and they started off toward the car.

As they got in, Kurt remembered he never shared details about the fight that had brought them here. "I never told you what started my fight with Blaine."

"Yeah?"

"I told him I slept with you and had a sex dream about you," Kurt said with a coy grin and sat in the car while Sam just stared at him open-mouthed. Sam thought he could get used to this.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam sighed and leaned against a wall, pulling out his phone to go over Kurt's texts for the thousandth time that day. He was on break at work and was waiting for more orders to come in for him to make a round of deliveries. He could not remember ever wanting to be elsewhere any more than he did now. After his revelation to Kurt the night before, Sam wanted nothing more than to be able to see Kurt and talk about what was going on between them. Since he had had to drop Kurt off at his house after they got back from the park, they wanted to see each other the next day, but Sam told him he had to work. Screw having responsibilities.

Feeling antsy and having reread his and Kurt's conversation from earlier in the day once more, Sam put his phone away and crossed his arms, ready to lose himself in all the thoughts he had continually been trying to put on hold all day. His momentary mental escape was interrupted by a call from the front of the restaurant.

"Sam!"

"Yeah? I'm back here! I'm on break!"

His boss poked her head around the corner and spotted Sam by the back door. Crossing halfway through the kitchen toward him, she jerked her fist back, thumb extended, pointing toward the front. "There's some kid here who wants to see you."

Sam gave her a questioning look and stepped away from his position against the wall to see if he could peer around her and catch a glimpse of whoever it was from back here. No luck.

"What? Who is it? No one visits me at work…" Sam felt his pulse quicken as he inwardly hoped it was who he had been dying to see all day.

His boss just shrugged. "Hell if I know who wants to visit you. Some short guy with dark hair. Looks kinda pissed if you ask me."

Sam felt his stomach clench in dread and lowered his voice cautiously. "What? Um, look, if it's who it sounds like, I don't really wanna talk to him right now. Just FYI, I'm afraid he might wanna start trouble with me. I'm just gonna try to get rid of him, okay?"

His boss raised her eyebrows at him. "What you been up to? I don't need anybody bringin' trouble in here. It's enough of a shithole here without bloodied delivery boys and flying furniture."

Sam put his hands up and whispered hurriedly, "No, I haven't done anything! Lemme just go tell him to leave, okay?"

She put her hands on her hips and looked him up and down. "Yeah, yeah, alright. But be quick. You look about twice his size anyway. You can take him, Blondie."

Sam gave her an apologetic smile as he shuffled toward the front of the restaurant. Peeking quickly through the open doorway, he saw his visitor standing with his back to him, arms crossed and not looking too happy. It was Blaine, just as he had feared. Sam steeled himself and moved forward to stand behind the counter. Blaine turned at Sam's approach.

Urging himself to act natural, Sam gave him a friendly smile. "Hey, man, how you been? What's up?"

Blaine made a condescending sound of disbelief. "Don't give me that, okay? We both know why I'm here."

"Uh…no?"

"I can't believe you two. I don't appreciate you being shady with Kurt. You've been spending way too much time together lately. And I saw you all over him at the carnival last week when we got off that dumb ride. It's not classy."

Sam shifted his eyes around the room. It was so hard to look Blaine in the eye when he was so worked up for good reason. "Okay, look, dude, I think you need to chill. Me and Kurt are just friends. Trust me." It killed him to have to say that. It was technically still true, though, as much as he hoped they would not stay that way. "As for last week, Kurt was upset because of you guys' fight. I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't comfort him when he needed it."

Blaine rolled his eyes and made a huffing sound. Sam looked him straight in the eye before continuing, "Kurt is a big kid. He can make his own decisions and spend his time with whoever he wants to. He can have relationships with people other than you. And if I gave my two cents, I'd point out that the one not being classy is the person trying to control his boyfriend's life." It was all Sam could do to stay civil with Blaine. All the resentment and jealousy he had buried for months was fueling real anger toward him.

"Really? That's ridiculous. You sound just like him. It's not control to have some rules. Rules that seem very reasonable now that I hear how _inexplicably_ loyal to him you sound."

Sam felt himself clenching his teeth. "Dude, I legit cannot right now. You need to leave. I'm at work, and even if I wasn't, I wouldn't really wanna waste my time talking to you."

"Fine. You're right. This is a waste of time. I just wanted to stop by and tell you I'm leaving you to your Jerry Springer classiness. Obviously you two are madly in love with each other and I'm just a douchebag. Peace." And with that, Blaine turned on his heel and made his dramatic exit.

"He puts on a show, don't he?" Sam nearly jumped. He turned and went back through the doorway behind the counter to the kitchen. His boss was standing to the side of the doorway, leaning against the wall and eating a piece of pizza. Talking through her food, she looked over at Sam as he stopped in front of her. "He queer?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Yeah, heard you say 'boyfriend.' Never woulda guessed it of that one." She paused, seemingly waiting for a response from Sam that he did not provide. "He seemed to think you was too."

"Yeah…I don't know. I guess they had a fight and he's…well you heard him." Sam looked down at his feet nervously. "Anyway, sorry about that."

"It don't matter, you got him outta here without nothin' crazy goin' down. Anyway, got another couple orders a few minutes ago. They're just about outta the oven, so break's over."

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Later, after he had completed all the deliveries and was on his way back to the restaurant, Sam pulled over into an empty parking lot. He was still a little shaken by his encounter with Blaine. How much did he know? Sam had played it off, but Blaine was so upset. He had trouble feeling guilty about what had happened last night since he and Kurt had had a growing relationship for months and Kurt had said himself he was done with Blaine, but Sam was uneasy about Blaine's anger nonetheless. He pulled out his phone and called Kurt, who picked up after only one ring.<p>

"Hey!" Sam could hear Kurt's smile and involuntarily grinned himself at the sound of his voice. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Yeah. I'm actually out on a delivery right now, but I had to call you."

"You _had_ to call me? I appreciate the sentiment, Sam, you know that I do. But I don't want you fired." Sam could tell Kurt did not really mind, though.

"I just had to tell you about something. Blaine came in a few minutes ago."

"What? Did something happen?" Kurt said with worry tingeing his voice.

"Uh, well, kinda…He came in pretty much just to tell me he's pissed at me, at us, and that I'm trashy for spending time with you."

"Oh…oh God. I'm sorry, Sam. This might be my fault."

"How? Did you tell him something…?"

"Well honestly, I don't think he has a reason to think anyone's trashy. I didn't cheat on him, as much as he thinks and wishes I did, multiple times. No, I broke up with him today," Kurt said a little breathlessly.

Sam felt his heart beating against his ribcage. "You did? Like, officially?"

"Yes, 'officially.' Although honestly I think that for all intents and purposes we haven't been together for a couple weeks. It's such a relief to finally kick him to the curb. I was kind of scared to, you know, but…I finally felt strong enough to take back my independence. Especially after last night." Sam was silent. Kurt could only hear his breathing for a few seconds. "Sam, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry. Yeah, I really wanna talk about that…last night, I mean. I'm sorry I'm busy," Sam mumbled.

"I know you are. Speaking of, you need to get back to work. Call me when you get off and we'll plan something for tomorrow, okay?" Kurt paused for a moment before continuing in a softer tone, "Look, Sam. No matter anything else, we're friends. No matter where we go, as far as I'm concerned, we always will be friends. I know how you're probably feeling right now, but relax, okay? For me?"

"Yeah…yeah, okay, I will, Kurt. Thanks." Sam exhaled slowly and deliberately.

"Good. Call me later. 'Bye!"

"Talk to you later." Sam heard the call end and sat there alone for another minute or so, lost in thought, before composing himself and driving back to work.

* * *

><p>Sam had been sitting in his car in front of Kurt's house for a good five minutes. Why was he so nervous? Kurt had been happy to hear Sam's feelings toward him. And they had kissed. <em>Kissed<em>. It suddenly struck Sam that that had been their first kiss. But he was being silly having to steel himself like this. He saw Kurt's front door open and Kurt stepped out into view, waving him over.

Sam stepped out of his car.

"Sam! What are you doing?"

With an apologetic smile, Sam just shrugged as he walked up. "Sorry, my mom called me about something," he lied.

Kurt gave him a disbelieving eyebrow raise and then stepped aside and ushered him into the house before following him in. "Dad! Sam's here!" he yelled to his father then added to Sam, "Go up to my room. We don't need my dad overhearing us."

As Sam started up the stairs, Burt must have heard their steps because he yelled back, "Kurt! Door open!"

Kurt rolled his eyes, but Sam turned and gave him a sharp look. Kurt just lightly nudged him forward again before replying. "Don't worry, I didn't say anything. I told him months ago you were, for lack of a better term, 'undetermined,' so I'm sure that's what he's thinking."

"Months ago…?" Sam questioned as he made the landing and headed into Kurt's room. Kurt brushed past him and sat on his bed.

"Well, yeah, I think you remember our duets assignment. I thought of it as wishful thinking more than anything else, but then again here we are." Kurt smiled up at him.

"So…" Sam's word trailed off.

"So…" Kurt echoed him.

"So where do we stand?" Sam could not keep his voice from shaking a little. It did not go unnoticed.

Kurt blinked up at him and then slid himself back so he was sitting against the headboard, propped up on his pillows. "Well you don't need to stand at all. Sit down or something. Get comfy." Sam came over, sat on the edge of the bed, and continued to look at Kurt hopefully. Kurt had to smile to see Sam so nervous. "Okay. Well, as far as I can tell, we've been spending a lot of time together the past couple months, and the night before last you revealed you had feelings for me. And I was delighted. And then we kissed. I think that's where we stand. Oh, and let's not forget I finally plucked up the courage to break things off with Blaine."

Sam stared at Kurt for a second and then swallowed hard and looked down. "No, I mean, I know what's happened, but…"

"I know what you meant." Kurt scooted forward toward Sam, who looked up to meet his eyes. Kurt smiled a little shyly and continued, "You know, to be honest, it's nice to be pursued." Sam gave a half-smile out of embarrassment. "I didn't get that from Blaine. I've never gotten that before, not really. I guess…I guess what I'm saying is, I believe you. I believe that you do care about me. I see it. I have seen it. I never really gave up on you. Even though I gave up our duet so long ago when we first met, I've still always liked you, and the feeling only grew as we got to know each other. You know, you've always been a friend to me, even when it wasn't convenient for you. You've never treated me bad. I can't say the same for Blaine. Or Finn for that matter, bless his heart."

"That's because I care about you."

"I know."

"But Kurt, I really mean that. I know I told you the other night, but I would tell you every day if you'd let me. I don't know if I'm…if I'm…" He glanced at the open doorway before whispering, "…gay…but I know how I feel about you."

The two of them held eye contact for a few moments. Kurt exhaled a little shakily and said, "Well, do you wanna give this a try?"

"You mean…?" Sam held his breath subconsciously.

"Us. If you wanna give us a try, I do too."

Sam broke into a wide smile. "Yes, I really do, Kurt."

Kurt smiled back. "Alright then, it's settled."

After sighing to finally release his nerves, Sam took Kurt's hand. "Kurt, I wanna take you out. Like, on a real date."

Kurt widened his eyes. "You don't half-ass things at all."

"No, I don't. I'm taking you out, okay? And I won't take no for an answer." He smiled playfully, and Kurt huffed animatedly.

"Well, fine then. I guess I don't have a choice then, do I?"

"Nope."

"I look forward to it." Kurt removed his hand from Sam's and scooted himself back against the headboard. "Oh, and by the way, I'm so sorry Blaine came and harassed you at work."

"It wasn't your fault. Besides, I got rid of him."

Kurt crossed his arms and sighed. "School's going to be really awkward now."

Sam furrowed his brow. "What? Why? You don't even have to talk to him if you don't want to."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him. "Um, Sam? Oh! Did I never tell you? Blaine transferred to McKinley a few weeks ago."

"What!" Sam's surprise and outrage almost made Kurt laugh.

"Yeah…it was inevitable, I guess, especially after I transferred. Dalton was a real financial burden on his family, and he hated me not being around him anymore. I can't help feeling a little bitchy for breaking things off now."

"Kurt, you can't stay in a relationship that makes you unhappy. Don't feel bad. After all, you said yourself it was inevitable. And it sounds like he couldn't afford Dalton anymore anyway."

"You're right, I know. But still."

Sam slid over beside Kurt to sit next to him. "Well we will deal with Blaine if he makes anything awkward, or worse."

"It's not your responsibility, though."

"No, it's not my responsibility, but I care anyway. That's awhile from now, anyway."

Kurt turned and smiled halfheartedly at Sam. "Thanks. You're right."

They sat for a few moments before Kurt broke the silence. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

"…I know what I want to do." He bit his lip to fight back a smile and gave Kurt a sidelong glance.

"Sam. There's a reason my dad wanted the door open."

"Oh well." Sam's face fell exaggeratedly. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Maybe next time."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Obviously I'm overstepping canon with Blaine's transfer, but I figure it's an inevitability he'll move to McKinley in season 3, so I had to find a way to get him there even though he and Kurt won't be together. So sue me.**

**Also, I apologize for how long it's been since my last update, but in my defense, the #DontCutTheChord debacle really shook me. I should be back on track now.**

**I appreciate all the reviews I get, so thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed! They always make my day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know it's been a while. I'm studying abroad in Japan now, and I have the unfortunate suspicion I'll have a lot of free time to write now.**

**This chapter contains light smut. You have been warned.**

* * *

><p>"Hello?"<p>

"So. You have a choice."

Kurt rolled his eyes despite being on the phone. "Thanks for the heads up. What's with the 'the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-house' call?"

"Hey…I don't sound like that…besides we were like three when that movie came out."

"Well excuse me for being culturally knowledgeable."

Kurt heard Sam laugh on the other end. "Fine. Anyway, our date," Kurt could hear the smile in his voice. "You have a choice."

He could not stop himself from smiling in return. "Alright, so what are our options?"

"Well I knew I had to figure out something we could both do and enjoy—I mean, duh, right, but I know you have things you just won't do, so I thought and thought and came up with some stuff. I'll like it regardless 'cause it'll be our first date and you'll be there so it'll be great, so just tell me which date you wanna go on and we can do that and I hope you like it—,"

"Jesus, Sam, slow down! You've obviously worked yourself up over this way too much. You make me out like I'm an ungrateful ice queen you have to bend over backwards to please!"

"Well, if I really have to bend over to please you…"

"Oh my God, Sam. Okay, I was asking for that. But just tell me where we're going."

"Okay…well option one (this is the safe one): I figured you wouldn't mind something sappy and traditional, so we can have dinner together. I'd pick you up." Sam paused.

"And option two?"

"Um…okay option two is we go to a show together. The local theater's putting on Rent. I know this is more your thing, but I've actually seen this one! So we can totally go if you want. I didn't really figure out what comes after, though…"

"Hmm…not too shabby, Sam," Kurt teased. "It's a tough call, to be honest. Both sound great…but let's go with option one. I could go for a nice wine and dine."

"Okay! Great! So we have a real date set! How 'bout I pick you up tomorrow at 7?"

"Sounds lovely, Sam," Kurt said happily. "I'll see you tomorrow, then!"

"Bye, Kurt! I'm so excited!"

Kurt gave a genuine laugh. "Me too. Bye!"

Kurt put his phone down and then flopped backwards onto his bed with a sigh. At the sound of a creak, Kurt turned and saw his dad pass his room on his way downstairs. And just like that, the butterflies were replaced with knots. He hated to lie. He did not want to hurt him. With a dreadful groan, Kurt picked his phone back up.

Sam picked up on the first ring.

"Y—Yeah?"

Kurt sighed and said in a voice that dripped with misery, "I need to ask something of you, Sam. If we're going out."

"Well…sure. Anything. What is it?"

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Kurt yelled as he shot up from the couch.<p>

"Kurt, I don't like this."

Burt came over to the door where Kurt had paused with his hand on the doorknob. "I know, Dad. But you're meeting him, aren't you?"

Sighing, Burt just waved at the door. Kurt took the cue and opened it. Sam was immediately revealed on the threshold smiling sheepishly.

"Sam?" Burt looked incredulously from his son to Sam and back again. "I guess he's not so undetermined anymore, then?"

The apprehension on Kurt's face disappeared as he laughed. "At least not with me. Sam, come in!"

Sam had to avoid Burt's raised eyebrows as he stepped in and said shyly, "Hi, Mr…Mr. Hummel."

"Call me Burt."

"Hi, Burt."

Kurt's head swiveled back and forth between the two with a strained, nervous smile. Burt cleared his throat. "So does anyone know about this?"

Kurt answered, "No. Not yet, anyway. It's kind of…new, after all. Let us break it to Finn, please."

"Sure. What about your folks?" He turned to Sam.

"Um, well they don't know anything about this. They just know I've been hanging out with Kurt a lot lately."

Burt gave the two boys a shrewd look. "That's right, you _have_ been seeing each other all the time this summer."

Kurt cut across him, though. "I know we have, but nothing was going on. That's how this started, but—but it hadn't started yet. Why would I be revealing everything to you now?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Just calm down, Kurt. I know you make good choices." At this Kurt relaxed a little. "Okay, well," Burt paused to give the boys an appraising look, "I can't say I'm not surprised. And yeah, I won't lie; I don't like that your folks are in the dark, Sam. But I get it."

"…So?" Kurt encouraged hopefully.

"Go out and have a good time, Kurt. I know Sam already. And to be honest, I think he's a tad better than Bland." Sam shot Kurt a bashful grin and shuffled his feet self-consciously.

"Thank you, thank you!" Kurt rushed forward and gave his dad a quick hug. "I'm so glad this turned out well."

Burt raised his eyebrow. "Is there any reason it shouldn't have?"

"No, of course not!"

"Okay then. You boys be safe."

Kurt went for the door, but Sam seized the moment to speak up. "Hey, Mr. Humm—Burt, can I have a word?" Kurt shot him a confused look.

"Yeah, of course." Burt looked pleasantly surprised and he motioned for Sam to follow him into the other room. Kurt was left to mentally wring his hands and continue to clutch the doorknob as if it rooted him to sanity. Less than a minute later Sam came back smiling.

Talking over Kurt's questioning of what he was doing, Sam said "Let's go!" happily and grabbed Kurt's hand, and they left as Burt yelled at Kurt to have fun but not too much fun from the other room.

The two settled into Sam's car and Kurt turned to the other boy with an irritated look. Sam turned to him grinning ear to ear, but his face fell when he saw Kurt's face. "What's the matter?"

"I was feeling bad about telling you my dad had to know about this for us to go out, so why do I feel like I've had the wool pulled down over _my_ eyes?"

Sam brightened considerably again and shrugged. "Oh, don't be like that. I just told him where we're going and gave him my number."

"So now you're hitting on my dad too?" Kurt said with a laugh. "Who's next, Finn?"

"Gross, dude." Sam mimed vomiting.

"Hey! Be nice. I had a thing for him once, you know."

Sam raised an eyebrow and motioned at himself. "Well, I mean, look at your taste."

"Shut up. You're anything but gross," Kurt said with an eyeroll while a smile flashed across Sam's face. "Where _are_ we going, by the way?"

Sam started the car and started to pull out into the street. He was biting his lip in a poor attempt to hide a smile. Kurt was not amused.

"Sam."

"It's a surprise! Now be quiet!" Sam burst out and barely suppressed a laugh. Kurt felt him reach over and take his hand shakily. He resigned himself to Sam's shenanigans and contented himself with enjoying the trip with Sam's fingers interlaced with his.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Kurt found himself wondering if it was going to become a habit of Sam's to spirit him away to places unknown every time they saw each other. He was parking the car at a park, this one much more lively and maintained than the wilderness he had pulled into a week earlier. Sam smiled excitedly at Kurt then removed his hand from his and got out of the car. Kurt opened his door wearily.<p>

"Saaam. I hate surprises, you know."

His chauffeur had gotten into the trunk and craned his neck to look at him. "No way. Everyone hates bad surprises. This isn't a bad surprise, though!"

Kurt checked the car for dirt and then leaned against it with a sigh. He was beginning to seriously doubt Sam's ability to pull off a nice first date. "I thought we were going to dinner, anyway. We can't be eating _here_. What were those two choices even for?"

Sam walked up to Kurt with his arms crossed and the goofiest frown Kurt had ever seen. "Why are you whining?" he asked sadly. "Don't you have faith in tonight?"

"I never put much store in faith…" Kurt muttered. Sam just made a sound of disbelief and went back to the trunk. Kurt looked up when he came back a few seconds later.

"A picnic basket?"

Sam held it up with a grim face waiting for the verdict. "I gave you two options: dinner or a show. I never wanted you to pick, though."

"But you made me…?"

Sam bit his lip in that unsure way that unraveled Kurt every time. "Yeah. But I just wanted to surprise you. 'Cause actually you get both! Dinner and a show!"

"Wha—?"

"I checked in with Mercedes and she told me you didn't pay any attention to what the local theater was doing, so I had to do this! Kurt, they're performing on the outdoor stage here in the park! So I thought we could come here and have the best of both worlds."

Kurt immediately perked up. "Really? Oh my gosh, Sam, this will be so fun!" He dodged the basket in Sam's arms and hugged him around the neck, kissing him on the cheek.

Blushing furiously, Sam stammered in surprise, "So—so you actually like it?"

"Well we'll see how the night goes. But the odds are in your favor. I forgive you for surprising me." Sam laughed nervously, and Kurt got behind him and pushed him forward. "So come on, show me where our first date will be. Don't leave a girl in suspense too long!"

Cheered and relieved by Kurt's newfound enthusiasm, Sam led them to a grassy area away from the crowds waiting for the show where they could get a reasonable view of the production but where he thought they might not be distracted from each other. Kurt helped lay out the blanket ("But Your Majesty, what about your clothes?"), Sam laid out the spread ("Are you a cook? My God, I've won the lottery, haven't I?"), and the two boys settled into their first date.

* * *

><p>"Can I put this away?" Sam asked later as he put the lid on a container.<p>

"Yeah. You made way too much food."

"Nothing but the best," Sam replied with an almost sarcastic wink. He started to clear up the other food. "Have you noticed we haven't been paying attention to the show at all?"

Kurt laughed. "I know. We've had too much to grab our attention right here, I guess. I like this song, though," Kurt added distractedly and repositioned himself so that he was lying lengthwise on the blanket to watch the performers in the distance. After a minute, Sam got everything else in the basket and put it aside and then gingerly lay down behind Kurt, wrapping his arm around him. Kurt stiffened at first, but he relaxed and pressed back into Sam.

After a scene or two, Sam broke the silence. "So did I do good?"

"Are you kidding? You did really good."

"I was nervous," Sam admitted.

"Well," Kurt paused to gather his thoughts and find Sam's hand with his to give it a squeeze. He felt Sam's breath hitch when he held his hand. "You know, I think that's a good thing. All it shows is that you wanted me to like this. Which isn't a bad quality in a boyfriend." Kurt had said it before catching himself.

"Oh!" Sam cleared his throat quietly before mumbling, "Yeah, so, um…"

"I didn't mean to say that, I'm sorry—," but Sam kept talking.

"So—so, are we boyfriends then? This is our first date."

Kurt took what felt like the longest minute in history to respond. "I think I'm okay with that. If you are, of course." He felt Sam tense. "See, you remember that fight Blaine and I had at the carnival right?"

Sam sighed. "Yeah…"

"Yeah. So, I want to be able to be comfortable with the person I care about in public. That's a big deal to me. But you're not out. Are you even gay? We've ended up caring a lot about each other, though. I don't really know what to do, to be honest."

"I don't know either. I don't know if I'm…gay. It feels weird for me to even say it, you know?" Kurt could tell how nervous Sam was. His voice shook a little. "I just…I like you, Kurt. I said that before, and it won't change. You are open with your life, so if I want to be a part of it, I have to be okay with the openness. I get it. I don't think it can happen overnight—,"

"I'm not asking it to."

"—but I can do that. It seems easy when I think of the reward."

"I don't want you to change your life for me. For anyone," Kurt implored.

"I'd change my life for myself. And…that's what I'd really be doing."

The two stayed silent for a few minutes then. Kurt slid back closer against Sam, and they both lay seemingly watching the show but in truth focused on each other. Kurt thought a lot about what he had said and what he wanted and what Sam had said. He could feel Sam's breath on the back of his neck. Kurt broke the silence. "So I guess that's it then. Unless you have any objections, we are o-fficially boyfriends." Sam's only outward response was to squeeze Kurt against him in a sort of sideways hug. It was a while again before either spoke.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch in the parking lot," Kurt said quietly.

Sam sighed and replied dismissively, "Yeah, well, I guess it comes with the territory."

"Well, it shouldn't, and I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

Kurt pulled Sam's hand to his lips and gave it a kiss. He wanted to just lie there with Sam more, but he wanted to talk more, too. He waited a minute before speaking again. "Is this weird, though?"

"This? I thought I did good." Sam sounded concerned.

"No, you did. But I mean, only a week ago we were just friends, and now we're cuddling with each other at a picnic complemented with showtunes—a very romantic picnic, I might add. So is this weird?"

"Kurt." There was a long pause before Sam answered. "We were never just friends." He wrapped his fingers around Kurt's hand under his own and gave it a squeeze. For a second it felt like Kurt was about to pull away from him, but he then turned his head around toward Sam's, and suddenly they were kissing. Sam was surprised by it and almost breathless from the intensity. Kurt was pressing into his mouth. Sam felt Kurt's tongue and he let him in. He felt his heart flutter, and he let out a gasp. Kurt giggled through their kiss, and Sam felt him smile against his face. Sam managed to get out a "Kurt…" who responded by removing his hand from Sam's and turning his body to face him. He pushed Sam onto his back and clutched at Sam's chest while returning to his lips. Sam felt Kurt bite his lip, and he jerked in pain, but it was the most electrifying, arousing sensation. He pulled Kurt fully onto him.

When he could feel Kurt against his body, when he could taste Kurt on his lips, Sam knew how right this was. He was surprised when Kurt took the initiative and he felt Kurt's hand under his shirt, but he was so enflamed he could hardly have wanted anything more in that moment. He brought one hand up and ran it over the back of Kurt's neck and through his hair. He had been fantasizing about this for so long he could not contain himself. Sam's hands found their way under Kurt's shirt.

Kurt grunted and grabbed at Sam's hair. He wrapped one arm around Sam's and felt him tensing as he bit a little too hard again. Sam moaned and ran his hands down Kurt's back. Panting, Kurt kissed at Sam's neck and grinded his hips into Sam's. He heard Sam whimper when he felt the physical evidence of just how turned on they both were, and Kurt felt him move his hands to his ass. Kurt groped for Sam's arm, and when he found it he moved Sam's hand down to his crotch and pressed his hips into Sam. Kurt heard a sharp intake of breath from Sam, who bucked into Kurt and then rolled him over onto his back.

Sam had Kurt in his embrace, with one hand on the back of his head, playing with his hair, the other on his pants. He massaged Kurt through his jeans and kissed him. Kurt arched his back and whimpered, and Sam moved his kisses down Kurt's neckline. Sam was not sure what he was doing, but he knew his way around his own body. He was nervous, but Kurt was enjoying it so physically and vocally that Sam felt shivers of arousal down his own body, and he upped his pace.

"Sam…" Kurt was practically writhing in his arms, and Sam paused to see if Kurt was okay. "Don't stop! Fuck!" Kurt put his hand on Sam's and made him restart his rhythm, bucking into him. Sam felt like he almost lost a tooth as Kurt reached up and pressed him back against his mouth a little too roughly. Sam's heart was racing and he felt high on arousal and passion. All he knew was he had to satisfy Kurt whose own passion had overwhelmed him. Kurt kept his back arched under Sam and was moaning almost too loudly; they were secluded but they were not that secluded. He got his hands up under Sam's shirt and grabbed at Sam's back so aggressively Sam was sure he would make him bleed. Kurt had to quit kissing Sam and throw his head back. Sam felt Kurt tense up in his embrace and heard him gasp. The spot Sam had been massaging pulsed and got warmer and wet as Kurt spent himself.

Sam slowly pulled his hand away and looked down, then with a smile looked back up at Kurt, who put his hand over his eyes, groaned, and then laughed. Sam laughed too, moved Kurt's hand out of his face, and leaned in to give him a tender kiss.

"Did I do good?" he asked wryly. Kurt just laughed again. Sam lay down next to him and they both lay there panting and then breathing deeply next to each other for a few minutes.

"You sure you never did that before?" Kurt teased and leaned his head over to rest against Sam's.

"Have you?"

Kurt looked over at him and waited a few moments to respond. "No."

"I'm surprised," Sam said with a smile.

Playing offended, Kurt balked. "What do you take me for?"

"Well what was that just now?" Sam laughed and then added a little more sadly than he intended, "And there was Blaine."

Kurt glanced at him and found his hand between them to hold. "You'd be surprised at how easy it is to resist him." He was able to catch a glimpse of a smirk on Sam's face.

It was properly dark, and Sam whispered to Kurt, quietly enough, he hoped, so that he wouldn't be heard, "Should we go?"

Kurt sat up wearily. "Yeah…I don't want my dad to think we had fun or anything." He sighed then looked down. "What on earth have I inflicted on these jeans? They were $180."

"Who cares?" Kurt turned in time to see Sam's teasing grin.

He swiveled and swung one leg over Sam, who was still lying on his back, so that he was straddling him. "I care!"

"Hey! Get off! I don't want a stain on me!" They play-swatted at each other, but Kurt grabbed Sam's hands and fell forward, and they kissed through their giggle. Kurt pulled away and they stared at each other for a second.

"So that just happened, didn't it?"

Kurt stood up and helped Sam up. He just hugged Sam in response.

With his head resting on Kurt's shoulder, Sam whispered "You okay?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Yeah. More than okay."

They pulled apart. Kurt walked over and grabbed the basket and a corner of the blanket.

"Time to go home."


End file.
